The-Boy-Who-Lived and The-Girl-From-Another-World 2
by Turtlepower12
Summary: She's back! They're all back for a second year! What will happen this year. Can Elsa manage to stay out of trouble? I originally posted this with the other one, but decided better of it because if I did, it would be too long to keep track of where I am at. This is the second book.
1. Little Whinging

**Hello. Welcome to the second year of Autumn in Hogwarts! I have the first 2 chapters done, but I still have the poll on my profile. Please vote! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I only own Elsa, not Harry Potter!**

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Autumn's P.O.V

It was summertime. A time away from Hogwarts. I wrote to Harry every other week, and he hasn't replied to any of them. Ron wrote to him too, and Hermione from when I wrote to her. Something's wrong here. Either the owls are getting lost, which is unlikely, Harry hasn't had time to respond to any, which is also unlikely, or someone is interfering with the mail. Either at Harry's house, or on the way to Harry. I tried to fly over to Harry's by myself to see what was going on, I told the rest of my family about my flying in letters, and showed them when I came back. I was denied multiple times. I talked to Ron, Fred, and George today. Tomorrow was mine and Harry's birthday. We decided to take the flying car at night and fly over to Harry's. We would take him back here. I had argued with myself to go or not, but decided on going. Harry's my friend, and friends stick together in my book. I wrote a note to mum about what we were doing. I sat on the couch and started reading a book that I haven't finished yet here, but forgot to take it with me to Hogwarts. I don't have that many books left to read here at home, but I want to keep my unread books here so I would have something to do on my free time and during the night when I'm bored. Before I knew it, it was dark out and I heard the boys coming down the stairs. I put my bookmark in my current page and set the book down. The boys came down and stood before me, like I'm a queen, which I most certainly am.

"You ready, boys?" I asked standing up.

"Let's do this and get back before mum does something we'll regret" Ron answered. We quietly ran outside and to the garage with the sky blue flying car. I got in the backseat with Fred while George was driving/flying and Ron was in the passenger seat.

"Try not to kill us" I told George.

"You can fly, can't you? Why not fly beside us so you can have some practice for next year?" Ron asked. I haven't been flying all summer. I guess it would be nice.

"Okay. I guess I do need to refresh the system for Quidditch next year. But, don't leave my sight! If I fall, I don't want to go splat!" I glared getting out and getting ready for takeoff.

"You're our sister, Elsa. Of course we'll be by your side" George assured. I have a weird feeling that this will turn out bad, but oh well. The car took off into the night sky. I jumped up and flew after it. Good thing I'm a night person and read at night. I can see perfectly well in this darkness. I looked around for the flying vehicle in the sky, but I couldn't find it.

"Oh, come on, George!" I yelled into the darkness.

"Yes?" I heard a voice answer from under me. I screamed in surprise and fell. Only to be on a hard surface a second later.

"George!" I seethed.

"You've done it now, Georgie" Fred said to George. I took a deep breath and jumped up again. I made sure that the sky blue flying car was beside me this time.

"Sorry" George apologized.

"Yeah, yeah" I dismissed. He did that on purpose. I know it. I continued looking forwards and flying. Every now and then, I would look to the side to find the vehicle still there. Looks like they're done messing with me. Before I knew it, in a few hours, we were flying over all these houses that looked the same.

"I'll see if I can't find him in this mess of houses with my night-vision" I suggested. I flew down lower and tried to get a closer look. I found a house with red-orange bars on the window. I was curious about it, so I flew down and looked inside. I saw a snowy owl in a bird cage and a black-haired boy sleeping on the bed by the window. I recognized both of them as Hedwig and Harry. Harry grew a bit and his hair got a bit messier, but otherwise, he was the same. I felt disgusted that Harry's family would go this far not to let Harry let Hedwig outside. All animals deserved to be outside. I quickly flew back up to the boys in the car.

"I found him. Follow me" I ordered as I flew back down. As I flew back down towards Harry and Hedwig, I saw Harry get up and look out the window. Then, I saw him back up to his closet by the door, as if we would kidnap him or something. Well, technically we are and we're also not. We're taking Harry home with us, but also saving him from these disgusting people.

"Hey Harry" I greeted. Harry slowly walked up to us.

"Elsa. Ron. Fred. George. What are you all doing here?" Harry asked. His voice has gotten deeper like Ron's had. It was hilarious when Ron's voice was cracking up at home earlier.

"What do you think, Harry? That we want to have a nice tea party with you?" I said sarcastically.

"Rescuing you, of course. Now, come on, get your trunk" Ron answered ignoring me. Harry hurried getting his trunk packed and closed it on his bed. Ron got out a hook and put it on the bars caging him in like an animal.

"You better stand back, Harry" I advised. Harry nodded and took a few steps backwards.

"Let's go" Ron told George. George turned the car and started to fly away from the house. When the car was far away, with the hook still in place, the window broke, leaving behind a loud noise. Enough to wake up the dead possibly. The car backed up and I flew in front of the window. Harry gave me his trunk, and I put it in the trunk of the car. I closed the trunk and got out of the way.

"Potter!" I heard from the other side of the door. The side of the car flew up besides the window and Ron got out, but still held on. Harry gave Ron Hedwig's cage, which he gave to Fred in the backseat.

"Come on. Come on, Harry, hurry up" Ron urged. Harry grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him in. Harry's door bursted open to reveal what should've been Harry's family, but they didn't look like him at all. There were 2 big oafs, and 1 skinny twig. The smaller one looked like their son, who took more from his dad. That must be Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley. I don't blame Hagrid for putting a pig tail on him.

"Petunia, he's escaping!" Vernon exclaimed as he ran and grabbed Harry's leg as he jumped inside the car. Fred and Ron, who got in the backseat for Harry, both grabbed hold of him, not letting him go.

"I've got you, Harry" Ron assured Harry. I slid into the space between the window and the car and flew straight up. I flew right into the sight of Vernon.

"Maybe Harry wants to come with us" I said angrily as I crossed my arms across my chest. Vernon let go and fainted towards me. The car was still in its same spot, so I didn't have enough time to fly away. He fell on top of me and we fell to the ground below.

"Autumn!" my brothers and Harry yelled.

"Just go! I'll meet you back home!" I yelled under the weight of the oaf.

"But-" Harry started.

"Go!" I screamed. God, Vernon's heavy! What's he been eating!?

"See you at home!" Ron yelled as I heard them drive away. I tried to wiggle out of the weight on top of me, but I had little success. I saw Petunia and Dudley run towards me and Vernon on top of me.

"Dad!" Dudley cried.

"What did you do to my husband!?" Petunia screeched. It took all of my willpower not to cover my ears.

"I didn't do anything. Now, if you'd be so kind as to get him off of me, that'd be brilliant" I answered calmly. Just when I said that, the oaf on top of me started to come too.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You're on top of me. Get up, please" I restated. He quickly got up. After a few seconds, I figured they weren't going to help me up, so I got up myself.

"Thanks" I said sarcastically bending my back.

"Who are you? What are you?" he asked.

"My name's Autumn. I'm a magical fluffy unicorn from another dimension" I replied sarcastically. I totally wish I was, that sounds cool.

"Are you one of Harry's _freakish_ friends?" Petunia asked. I got angry. They have the nerve to call me a freak? I got so fed up with this, that I quickly pulled my wand out and pointed it to the small freakish family.

"I'm proud of being a witch, _thank you very much_. And I'm not his friend, I'm his **_sister_** " I seethed. I put my wand away and looked up to the sky. It was starting to lighten up, so I jumped and quickly flew in the direction of home.

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I saw my home, The Burrow, in my sight. I ran as fast as I could the rest of the way there. About a quarter of the way back home, the sun rose. I flew down and started running as to not be seen by anybody. I am sweating and panting like mad. I saw the family in the kitchen, eating breakfast. I saw dad walking towards the door. By now, I was within earshot of the house.

"Morning, Weasleys" I heard dad greet.

"Morning, Dad" everyone greeted back.

"What a night. Nine raids. Nine!" Dad exclaimed. Since I was running so fast, I couldn't stop in time. I collided with the door and fell forward on the floor. I took a deep breath.

"Ow" I exhaled. I was trying to get myself back to normal.

"Good morning to you too" Fred said.

"I'm sorry, did you want me to be happy after running 3/4 of the way back here?" I asked with a raised eyebrow at Fred. Fred shut up.

"Why didn't you fly to the ground and fly fast, but not too fast for the Muggles to suspect anything? I mean, feet still on the ground, but your flying would be propelling you forward faster than running?" Ginny asked.

"Why didn't I think of that!?" I groaned and turned to dad.

"Morning, Dad" I greeted.

"Morning, kiddo" dad greeted back. I turned to Harry.

"By the way Harry, Happy birthday" I wished. I then walked to the living room and walked up the stairs to take a shower and change. I'm not staying in this all day! Especially when I ran a couple hours. I got my usual, and favorite, outfit, which consisted of a black t-shirt under a hot pink jacket, black jeans, and hot pink boots, and went to the bathroom.

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 **First chapter done. I went out, but that's fine. What do you think? We'll get to Hogwarts soon, don't worry. See you later. Review?**


	2. Diagon Alley

**Hello.**

 **Elsa: Why do you always start with that?**

 **Turtle: Oh good god. Not another Alice.**

 **Elsa: Who's that?**

 **Turtle: *sigh* nevermind. I say it because I'm just a polite person. Plus, I don't have anything else to say. This is my present to you for Halloween! Enjoy!**

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Autumn's P.O.V

I opened my eyes and looked around sleepily. I must've fallen asleep in my room while brushing my hair. I sat up and rubbed my eyes of the sleep in them. I looked in the mirror and found my black hairbrush stuck in my hair. I pulled it out and started brushing my hair out again, making sure to keep my left eye covered in my red hair. After I was done, I ran, almost tripping, downstairs. I need to stop running, but I can't help it sometimes. The house was quiet. A little too quiet for comfort.

"Harry?" I asked. No answer. I went into the kitchen.

"Ron? Mum? Dad?" I asked. Still no answer. I walked to sit on the couch in the living room, but before I sat down, something caught my eye. I saw a black robe, the Floo powder, and a note.

"Well, looks like they went somewhere" I smiled picking up the note. It read,

 _While you were gone, we got the Hogwarts letters. By the time we wanted to leave, Ginny saw you asleep. Since last night and this morning, you needed your rest. We went to Diagon Alley to purchase books and the other supplies. Don't worry, Mum has your supply list. See you later._

 _-your favourite bros_

"Well, alright then. To Diagon Alley, it is" I smiled putting the robe on. It was actually mine. I put the Floo powder back where it went, but grabbed a handful and stepped into the fireplace.

"Diagon Alley!" I exclaimed. I threw the powder down and I was suddenly engulfed in green flames. It felt like my insides were coming out. I always hate that feeling. I'll never get used to it. After a few seconds, I appeared in the pet shop. I walked outside and brushed myself off.

"Ha. I didn't think of how I was going to find them. I'm stupid" I laughed. I figure I'll just walk around and try to find them that way. I started to walk in no particular direction and just searched for a family of redheads. It's not that hard to find 7 redheads and a black-haired boy. As I passed the bookshop, I saw a bunch of posters for a book called _Magical me by Gilderoy Lockhart_. It sounds like it's about the person talking about them self. That's not a very good book in my opinion.

"Elsa? Is that you?" I heard someone ask. I jumped in surprise and turned around and found Hermione standing there.

"Dang it, Hermione. You startled me" I said.

"Come on. Your family's inside" Hermione said as she went back in the bookshop. I followed her and found my family, minus Mum, at the front of the shop.

"Have a nice nap, did you?" the twins asked. I glared at them.

"Why yes, as a matter of fact, I did" I answered.

"I'll bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" I heard a voice ask. I didn't want to hear that voice until Hogwarts.

"Wait, what happened while I was gone?" I whispered to Hermione.

"He got a picture with Gilderoy Lockhart and his collected works free of charge" Hermione answered.

"Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page" Malfoy sneered. I stepped in front of Harry.

"Leave him alone, Malfoy" I seethed. I was ready to take my wand out.

"Oh, you let your sister fight your battles, Potter?" Malfoy laughed. I was angry and my wand was out before I knew it. Someone who looked a lot like him put a cane on his shoulder and moved him aside.

"Now, now, Draco, play nicely" he said. Malfoy moved aside. That must be Mr. Malfoy then. I hate him already. He looked at me and Harry.

"Mr. and Ms. Potter.," he started. I glared at Malfoy with my famous death glare.

"Lucius Malfoy. We meet at last.," he said shaking Harry's hand.

"Forgive me" he said suddenly bringing Harry closer. His cane brushed Harry's bangs away.

"Your scar is legend. As, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you" he continued. I hate him. Can we go now?

"Voldemort killed our parents" I said calmly. Harry stepped away from Mr. Malfoy,

"He was nothing more than a murderer" Harry finished.

"You must be very brave to mention his name. Or very foolish" he said. When he said the last bit, he smiled, like he expected us to be foolish. Well, that's partially true. Harry tries to get himself killed every year.

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself" Hermione pointed out. Mr. Malfoy turned to her.

"And you must be...Ms. Granger" As he said this, he looked at Malfoy if he was correct. Malfoy nodded and Mr. Malfoy turned back to Hermione.

"Yes, Draco has told me all about you. And your parents. Muggles, aren't they?" he asked.

"There's nothing wrong with being raised by Muggles. Whoever's raised by them, they know more about them than you do" I said trying to stay calm. Every minute that they are here, is another minute of me losing it. Mr. Malfoy turned to me and my family.

"Let me see. Red hair, vacant expressions, tatty, secondhand book. You must be the Weasleys" Mr. Malfoy said. He took out Ginny's book from her cauldron. My vision is slowly turning red in anger. How dare he!? He says these things like there's something wrong with us! The only thing that's wrong is the way they're treating us like we don't belong in the wizarding world. I saw Dad come up next to us and Hermione pushed me backwards a bit, probably not to kill anybody, since my wand was still out.

"Children! It's mad in here. Let's go outside" Dad urged us to go outside the shop. Well, we would, but we're blocked by the gits known as Malfoys!

"Well, well, well. Weasley senior" Mr. Malfoy, somewhat, greeted. Dad looked up at him.

"Lucius" he, somewhat, greeted back.

"Busy time at the Ministry, Arthur, all those extra raids? I do hope they're paying you overtime, but judging by the state of this, I'd say not. What's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?" Mr. Malfoy asked.

"We have very different ideas about disgraces the name of wizard, then. Because I say that you're such a disgrace it makes me sick" I seethed. Mr. Malfoy turned to me.

"What did you say, girl?" he asked anger clear in his voice.

"You heard me" I answered, my anger rising. I was ready to raise my wand when I felt someone tug it from my tight grip. I looked and saw that Hermione had my wand in hand. How she got it from my tight grip, I have no idea. Mr. Malfoy saw this and turned back to look in the shop.

"Associating with Muggles" Mr. Malfoy said as he placed Ginny's books back in her cauldron. Wait, books? I may be wrong, but I saw only one book in there before. I'll see about it later.

"At least we're communicating with them" I said. Mr. Malfoy turned back to Dad.

"I'll see you at work" he said as he FINALLY left. Malfoy came to Harry and Ron.

"See you at school" he said before he too walked out. There was a few moments of silence.

"Okay, Hermione. They're gone. Can I have my wand back please?" I asked. Hermione reluctantly handed my wand back to me.

"Thanks" I said putting my wand back where it goes. We then walked out to get our other supplies.

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 **Done. Oh, yeah. You go, girl! They really are the disgrace though. Oh, Happy Halloween! This is Halloween! This is Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Who knows where that is from? I'll give you a cookie if you get it right and vote on my poll. See you later. Review?**


	3. Missing the train

**Hello. Thank you Awesome Guest for that review. You didn't vote on my poll though, so you go get yourself half a cookie, Since only one person voted, I don't think you guys really care what I do. I'll just make it a surprise. You will all have one more day after I post this chapter to vote. Enjoy!**

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Autumn's P.O.V

"10:58. Come on. Come on" Dad ushered. I can't believe that we got here late again! I'm beginning to think that this will start to be a habit. The train will be leaving at any moment, and I don't want to be late and miss it.

"The train will be leaving any moment" Mum agreed. Seriously!? Is she a freaking mind reader!?

"Fred, George, Percy, you first!" Dad exclaimed as we reached the correct brick wall to the train. We watched as they ran through. What? Did you expect me to run and crash into them!? Heck no!

"Okay" Mum whispered to Ginny.

"See you on the other side" I smiled. Ginny ran through the wall. Mum and dad followed after her.

"You sounded like you were going to die" Ron said.

"Well, it's true. See you guys later on the train" I shrugged as I too ran through the brick wall. Well, tried to anyway. I ran, but I slammed into the wall and knocked everything over.

"Autumn!" Ron and Harry yelled. They both rushed over to my side.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked.

"What's going on here?" a train person asked.

"S-Sorry, just lost control of the trolley" I lied. I hate lying to people, but I will if I have to.

He seemed to be satisfied with my answer and walked away.

"I'm fine, but I think the gateway sealed itself" I guessed.

A clock chimed 11:00.

"The train leaves at exactly 11:00! We've missed it!" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry, Elsa. If we can't get through, maybe Mum and Dad can't get back" Ron feared.

"That's bad" I commented.

"Let's just go, and wait by the car" Harry suggested.

"The car!" Ron exclaimed. He had that _I have an idea_ look. I never liked that look.

* * *

"No. I'm not getting in trouble. I'll get my own ride to Hogwarts. If you want to go that way, fine by me. I'm not stopping you" I said. Ron explained his plan while we were walking back to the car.

"Well, we're not going to leave you alone" Ron argued.

"And I'm not going with you" I argued back.

"I'm older than you" Ron continued.

"So? Still can't make me do anything" I shot, crossing my arms.

"Kids? What are you doing out here?" Dad asked. I'm not going to even ask how they came back.

"The gateway sealed itself on me before I could run through. Harry and Ron couldn't get through either" I explained.

"We should find transportation to Hogwarts for you three" Mum said.

"They suggested the car" I pointed out to Ron and Harry.

"That's not a bad idea, really, but you could be seen" Dad thought.

"Should I write to the school? Tell them we'll be late?" I asked.

"Yes. With luck, they'll give you some transportation" Mum answered.

* * *

"Thank you for contacting me. I will get you to Hogwarts in time for the feast" Professor McGonagall said.

"Thank you, Professor" I smiled. While Professor McGonagall went to make a transportation route to Hogwarts, Harry told us what happened to him to make our Aunt and Uncle starve him and put bars on his window.

"Dobby came to me too one day. Do you that he's the one that sealed the wall?" I asked.

"He could, but we don't know for sure" Harry answered. Professor McGonagall came back up to us with a newspaper.

"Here. This will take you three to Hogwarts. It's a portkey. I already sent a letter telling Headmaster Dumbledore that you are coming" she explained.

"Thank you, Professor" I smiled taking the portkey. Me, Harry, and Ron held onto our things and the newspaper.

Suddenly, it felt as if I was flying. VERY fast flying. As soon as it came, it was gone. We landed on the school grounds. On our backs.

"At least we made it" I groaned, trying to lighten up the mood.

"They could've warned us about the landing though. Ah! Look at my wnd!" Ron complained, standing up. Professor Dumbledore walked up to us.

"Hello, Professor" I greeted.

"Hello, dear girl. Thank you for writing to Professor McGonagall instead of taking matters into your own hands" Dumbledore smiled.

"If I wasn't there, they would have" I pointed out to my brothers.

"Hey!" Ron protested.

"Oh, hush. You know it's true" I playfully glared.

"You may take your things to your dorms while waiting for the rest of the students arrive" Dumbledore said, turning and walking off.

Me, Harry, and Ron grabbed our trunks, and me and Harry grabbed our owls before going up to the Gryffindor common room.

After putting my things by my bed, I was bored, so I went and sat at the end of the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

* * *

All of the students, except the first years began filing in. Hermione and my adopted twin brothers made a bee line for me as I was seen by them.

"What-"

"Happened-"

"To you?" the twins asked.

"You do know that's creepy how you 2 do that, right?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Everyone was in now, and took their seats. As they gave me a shrug of the shoulders as an answer, the doors opened. Professor McGonagall and the new first years came filing through the doors towards the Sorting Hat. As Ginny came closer to me, I gave her a thumbs-up and a reassuring smile. She gave me a smile back and continued on towards the front. After everyone was in, Dumbledore stood up to give his speech. I guess I wasn't really paying attention to the speech. I'll just have Hermione tell me later. I was preoccupied with my thoughts. I try not to get in trouble, and usually it works. I don't know how long it'll last though. I was nudged on the shoulder.

"What are you thinking about?" Harry asked.

"Thinking? Who said I was thinking? I'm not thinking anything" I dismissed nervously.

"So, what are you thinking about?" Hermione asked, coming in.

"...Dobby" I sighed, finally giving in after a few moments.

"What about Dobby?" Harry asked.

"What he said when I saw him. Who his master might be. What this year will hold for us" I explained.

"It can't be that bad" Ron said.

"Considering what he said about this year, it will be bad" I huffed.

"Who do you think his master is?" Hermione asked.

"Considering how much he knew about me and Harry, I'm betting on Malfoy" I hissed.

"So, that's why you weren't paying much attention tonight" Hermione realized.

"Hey! You can't blame me. You would think about this too, if it happened to you" I defended.

"Can you pay attention more tonight, and do the thinking tomorrow?" Hermione asked.

"Let the feast begin!" Dumbledore exclaimed. The tables filled with food like last year. First years gasped. Nothing new here.

"Starting tomorrow. I'm actually hungry right now" Hermione said taking some food from the table.

"Oh, hi Ginny!" I exclaimed finally noticing her across the table from me.

"Now you notice" she sighed.

"Sorry, I had thoughts on my mind, and I got distracted. Glad you got in Gryffindor" I apologized.

"You're fine. And thanks" Ginny smiled. The rest of the feast went by quickly. Me, Ron, Harry, and Hermione went to the common room to relax before bed.

"Okay. What exactly happened to you three today?" Hermione asked, her arms crossed.

"Would you like us to explain to you what happened?" Harry asked.

"Yes, please" Hermione answered.

"Ginny, go to bed" I ordered.

"But, I want to listen too" she complained.

"Nope. Bed" I said pointing up the stairs.

"Fine, but I get my book back" she said.

"Ugh, fine" I said going with her up the stairs. I went in my dorm, in my trunk, and grabbed the dark blue book from the bottom with all the other books. I pulled it out. It looked like a dairy of some kind, but it had nothing written in it. I gave it to Ginny. She smiled at me.

"I had to look at it. There's nothing though, so I think you might be good" I explained.

"Thanks" she smiled.

"Now, go to bed. You have a long day tomorrow" I said ushering her to her room.

"Okay, okay. I'm going. Goodnight" she laughed as she went inside her room.

"Goodnight, Ginny" I waved as the door closed. I went back downstairs to find Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting down in front of the fireplace. I sat down in one of the chairs.

"Okay, so what happened? Why weren't you on the train?" Hermione asked getting back on topic.

"Okay, so here's what happened-" Harry started. Then, me, Harry, and Ron gave an elaborate explanation as to why we weren't to be found.

"I suspected that you missed the train" Hermione commented after we were done.

"Is that all you got from that?" Ron asked.

"No, but that's the first thing I said" Hermione answered.

"Goodnight. I'm going to bed now" I announced. I got up from the chair and walked up the stairs to my dorm. Only when I walked in, did I notice that I shared with Hermione again. I'm not complaining about it. I like Hermione. I changed into my pajamas, grabbed a book, and got into bed for the night. Then, I started to read my book.

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 **Done. Finally! I had a bit of writer's block with this. Don't forget to vote! See you later. Review?**


	4. Last chapter from movie

**Hello. I usually have nothing to say. Except that my poll is down. Only one person voted, so I'll just surprise you. It'll be one of 4 things. It's been down for some time now. Enjoy!**

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Autumn's P.O.V

I woke up in my bed, ready for the day. I got up and walked to the bathroom to take a shower. I did my usual before making sure my schoolbag was packed and I went downstairs. I never know the exact time I get up, but it's earlier than everybody else. I sat down on the couch and read again from my Charms book. I always get bored when waiting. As I was reading through my Potions book an hour later, I heard footsteps throughout all that time. No one noticed that I was listening and reading at the same time. I can multi-task, but no one thinks I can. Eh, whatever. I heard footsteps coming towards me and pulled my book away from the hands that were about to grab it.

"Not this time" I smirked putting away my book.

"How did you do that?" Ron asked.

"What? Know you were coming? That's easy. I heard 3 different pairs of footsteps and figured it was you" I shrugged and headed out of the portrait hole. I heard them running after me.

"So, I guess we can't scare you anymore, right?" Harry asked.

"Yep. Actually, I was never scared in the first lace, I was just startled" I answered.

"Well, let's go. I'm hungry" Ron exclaimed starting to run to the Great Hall.

"Him and his hunger. I'm not sure that'll ever change" I smiled shaking my head.

"It doesn't look like it from what I saw at the Burrow" Harry added.

"Let's go before he eats all the food" Hermione said giggling.

"That's impossible, Hermione. He can't possibly eat all of that food from all four tables" I pointed out. She did the absolute mature thing to do: she stuck her tongue out at me. Oh, yeah. Very mature, Hermione.

"Whatever. Let's go" she huffed. Harry was still chuckling a bit, so was I a little bit. We all went into the Great Hall to find Ron stuffing his face in. I rolled my eyes and smacked him upside the head for being rude and a bad example for the first years when I came up behind him. I sat beside him while Hermione and Harry sat on the other side of the table. I picked up a few waffles and bacon. After my second helping, I was handed my time-table from behind from Professor McGonagall. I looked it over quickly.

"I wonder what'll happen in Herbology today" I wondered aloud.

"Who knows? Could be anything" Hermione supplied. I looked at my watch on my right wrist, only to realize that, AGAIN, the watch doesn't work.

"Every time I look at my watch, I ask myself why I even put it on in the first place" I groaned.

"Well, why do you?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. It just...feels right, I guess" I shrugged.

"Well, anyways, let's get to Herbology before we all get detention" Hermione interrupted. I'm glad she did. We all got up and started heading for Greenhouse Three.

* * *

I was talking to Hermione about the upcoming year. Professor Sprout walked in.

"Good morning everyone" Professor Sprout said loudly.

"Good morning, Professor Sprout" Everyone chorused back. Now, I notice that she has on earmuffs. Why? It wasn't that cold out yet.

"Welcome to Greenhouse Three, second years. Now, gather around, everyone" she welcomed. We all gathered around the long table in front of us.

"Today, we're going to re-pot Mandrakes" she explained while going behind her to the table and picking up a, rather large, pot. She brought it back over to the table we were all at. Maybe it was for a demonstration.

"Who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?" she asked. My hand shot up into the air, along with Hermione's. I smiled at her from beside me. We both knew this answer.

"Yes, Miss Potter?" she pointed to me. Her look said _So, we're playing this game, huh?_. I smiled at Hermione, my smile saying _bring it_. I took a deep breath to start answering.

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is used to return those who have been Petrified to their original state" I started. Professor Sprout nodded for me to continue, and continue I did.

"It's also quite dangerous. The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it" I finished.

"Excellent. 10 points to Gryffindor" she congratulated. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at me proudly.

"Now, as our Mandrakes are still only seedlings, their cries won't kill you yet. But they could knock you out for several hours, which is why I've given each of you a pair of earmuffs for auditory protection. So, could you please put them on, right away? Quickly" she explained. I don't want to be knocked unconscious for several hours, so I put on the earmuffs that were before me. I looked around and everyone put their earmuffs on too.

"Flaps tight down, and watch me closely" Professor Sprout said to us. I looked at her intently, watching her demonstrate. She put her hands on the pot and on the Mandrake.

"You grasp your Mandrake firmly. You pull it sharply out of the pot" Professor Sprout instructed. When she pulled out the Mandrake, I started to hear the cries. I covered the earmuffs with my hands to muffle the cries more. How come when you hear the cries, they knock you out for several hours, but we're hearing them through the earmuffs, and we're fine? I saw everyone else doing the exact same thing as I am. How come we're all fine?

"Got it? And now you dunk it down into the other pot and pour a little sprinkling of soil to keep him warm" Professor Sprout finished. I looked over to Harry and Ron. I noticed that Neville had begun to sway a bit, like he was going to faint. Then he did just that. He fell to the ground with a thud.

"Longbottom's been neglecting his earmuffs" Professor Sprout sighed. Seamus looked down at Neville. A few seconds later, he looked back up to the Professor.

"No ma'am, he's just fainted" Seamus informed.

"Yes, well, just leave him there" Professor Sprout dismissed. Why would you just leave him there!? I'd take him to the hospital wing.

"Right, on we go. Plenty of pots to go around" she told the rest of us. Every one of us, except Neville, went to the pot in front of us and held onto the Mandrake.

"Grasp your Mandrake and pull it up" Professor Sprout instructed as we did as we were told. All at once, all our Mandrakes all cried out. I had to resist from grasping my ears instead and dropping my Mandrake. I quickly put the Mandrake in the other pot and started putting soil on top. After I was nearly done, Hermione, Ron, and Harry finally looked over to me, and pretty soon, started to follow me. If this is what we're doing all period, I'm going to lose it!

* * *

 **I am so sorry for the long wait! I had this typed up for a while, but haven't posted it until now. I'm going to be taking a break from writing to get my brain to reboot itself. Even though it's my Christmas break, my brain needs to reboot from school, final exams and Marching band drama. I don't know when I'll be back, but let's all hope it's soon and my writing will be a bit better. See you later. Review?**


	5. Lockhart in DADA

**Hello. Did you miss me? No? Bummer. I got the Harry Potter book set for Christmas, so this will be off of the books now. The others were from the movies. The updates will also be a little more frequent. Merry late Christmas! Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

We were sitting in the Great Hall for lunch, waiting for the mail to arrive. I was reading my Potions book again, but still see Ron trying to tape his wand back together. I had to resist the urge to laugh.

"Say it. I'm doomed" Ron said looking at his taped up wand.

"I'm doomed" I repeated.

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny. Go ahead. Laugh it up, why don't you?" Ron hissed at me.

"Ronald, she was only trying to help" Hermione scolded.

"Can't I try to get my brother to smile every now and then?" I asked.

"I guess, but now's not the time" Ron said. It wasn't a few minutes later, that owls started to come in, drop the mail, take some food, and leave. A package fell off of Neville's head. I looked at him in concern.

"Are you okay, Neville?" I asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine" Neville answered. He was rubbing the sore spot on his head. I grabbed some ice cubes from my goblet of ice water and wrapped them up in a napkin. I handed it to Neville.

"Here. Take this. It'll stop the pain" I said. He took the wrapped ice and held it to his head.

"Thanks, Elsa" Neville smiled.

"No problem, Neville. Happy to help" I smiled. I opened my book again to start reading. Before I could though, Errol flew in, carrying an envelope. He dropped down to the table, and faceplanted with Hermione's jug.

" _Errol!_ " Ron hissed. He took out the owl by his feet. Errol slumped, unconscious, on the table, his legs were in the air while a damp red envelope was in his back. My eyes widened and my face paled a bit. That's a Howler! I don't know who it's for, most likely Ron, but I wish them the best of luck.

"Oh, no-" Ron gasped, fearing the worst for the owl.

"Don't worry. He's still alive" I said. I was met with three confused faces.

"I mean, his chest is moving. He's breathing. He's still alive" I elaborated. I didn't see if Errol had a pulse or anything. I just know that he's still alive somehow.

"It's not that" Ron said. He was probably worried for the owl.

I think I can try making a pun with something.

"My dog can do magic tricks. It's a labracadabrador" I joked.

"We don't have a dog, Elsa" Ron argued.

"Ron, it's a joke. Here's another one. Sue broke her finger today. On the other hand, she was completely fine" I tried again. This time, I got a couple chuckles from Harry and Hermione.

"I often say to myself, 'I can't believe the cloning machine worked'" I tried again. Harry and Hermione began to laugh harder while I saw a faint smile on Ron.

"Some people say that I'm addicted to somersaults, but that's just how I roll" I smiled. Harry and Hermione were now rolling on the floor, laughing. I saw Ron chuckle a bit. Come on, one more. I need a really good one.

"I'm working on a device that will read minds. I'd love to hear your thoughts" I said. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were now all laughing. I even saw some people that were sitting next to us laughing, including Neville.

"Thank you. Thank you. I'll be here all week" I stood up and bowed. They were laughing harder, so I went out to my next class.

* * *

 **This was where the Mandrakes came in, but that was the movie, and this is the book. If you want to, you can reread the past chapter again. I'm skipping to the next part.**

* * *

In Transfiguration, we were turning beetles into buttons. It's not that hard. You tap the wand on the bettle three times and say the spell. Me and Hermione finished ours together. It wasn't really a race, but since I answered the question instead of her, she made it into one. I'm a very competetive person when I want to. I saw that Harry's beetle was scurrying around his desk, trying to get away from his wand. Ron was having far worse problems. His taped up wand was broken WAY beyod repair. It kept crackling and sparking at odd moments, and every time he tried to transfigure his beetle, it engulfed him in thick, gray smoke that smelled disgustingly of rotton eggs. Ron accidently squashed his beetle with his elbow, since he couldn't see, and asked for a new one. Professor McGonagall wasn't pleased at all, but gave him a new one.

When the bell rang for break **(AN: Just go with it, since I just did the lunch thing)** , I was happy. I got all these buttons, but I won't use them. I asked Professor McGonagall how to turn them back. Once I get outside where no one will step on them, I will turn them back. Animals deserve to be set free. Me and Hermione went outside into the overcast courtyard. Hermione began reading her book again, but I went into a secluded corner and transfigured all of the buttons back into beetles. I walked out of the corner, but I heard a small voice. I went back and knelt down, careful of the beetles. I didn't see anyone else, so I bent down to the nearest beetle to me.

"Did you talk?" I asked.

"Yes, I did. Thank you for turning us back. Now, we can go back to our families" the beetle answered.

"Uh...you're welcome" I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Jane" the beetle said.

"Right. You're welcome, Jane. If you'll excuse me, I have to go back to my friend and brothers" I said beginning to stand up.

"Thank you!" the rest of the beetles chorused.

"You're welcome, and I hope you find your families" I smiled.

"Thank you, and we hope that you do too" Jane said before leaving with the others. What did she mean by finding my family? I have my family already. I don't know what she's talking about. I walked back to Hermione, and I found Harry and Ron there. When did they get here? Where were they? Hermione just snatched back a piece of paper, and I'm assuming that it's the timetable.

"What was that about, Hermione?" I asked. She jumped, as well as Harry and Ron.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you" I apologized.

"Where've you been?" Ron asked.

"Turning buttons back to beetles" I answered. I saw a mousy haired boy coming up to us. He was a small boy, a first year to be exact, with mousy brown hair, light colored skin, brown eyes, and he had a camera around his neck. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I looked at him, and he went bright red for some reason.

"All right, Harry? I'm-I'm Colin Creevey" he said breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. D'you think-would it be all right if-can I have a picture with you and Autumn?" he asked, raising his camera hopefully.

"A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.

"So I can prove I've met you two" Colin answered eagerly, edging further forward. "I know all about you guys. Everyone's told me. About how you two survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead, and a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures'll _move_ " Colin drew a great shuddering breath of excitement and said, "It's _amazing_ here, isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till I got the letter from Hogwarts. My Dad's a milkman, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you two"-he looked imploringly at me and Harry-"Maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you guys sign it?" he asked. I would be glad to take a picture with him and Harry if Ron or Hermione would take the picture.

" _Signed photos_? You're giving out _signed photos_ , Potters?" Malfoy asked. Malfoy's voice echoed around the coutyard. He stopped right behind Colin, flanked, as always, by his large, thuggish, and idiot cronies.

"Everyone line up! The Potter's giving out signed photos!" Malfoy roared to the crowd.

"No, we're not.," Harry said angrily, his fists cletched.

"Shut up, Malfoy. Don't you have to be a stuck up, snobby girl somewhere else?" I asked through cletched teeth.

"What did you say, emo?" Malfoy asked angrily. Silence, that's all I heard. Maybe everyone in the courtyard was watching us because of what I said.

"You heard me. Don't you have to be a stuck up, snobby _girl_ somewhere else?" I repeated.

"For your information, I'm not a girl" Malfoy snapped.

"Well, my mistake, but you look and act like one" I smiled evilly.

"Well, if I'm a girl, then you're a boy" Malfoy tried. Wow. Nice comeback...NOT.

"No, I'm not. I'm a magical fluffy unicorn from another dimension" I shot back. I heard chuckles from a few people, including Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I'm on a roll today with making people laugh.

"They don't even exist" Malfoy said after a minute.

"Really? I could show you my power, but that would kill you and possibly everyone here, and that's against my code. So, I'll just do...THIS" I said. I kicked him in the place where the sun don't shine. Crabbe and Goyle ran at me, trying to get revenge, but I jumped up and flew away to avoid them.

"I was never here" I said mysteriously and flying away where nobody was at. I landed next to the DADA classroom and went inside.

"Ms. Potter, what are you doing here? Class hasn't started yet" Professor(Bleh, not really, after I read his books, not so much a Professor) Lockhart asked.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but I came here to get a teacher because I think a fight was about to break loose out there in the courtyard" I lied. I hope Harry, Ron, or Hermione doesn't get in too much trouble.

"Thank you for telling me. It was the right thing to do. Since the bell will ring in a few minutes, you can stay in here while I deal with what's going on outside" Professor Lockhart smiled as he stood up and walked out of the room. I decided to take a seat at the front of the room, but far enough back that I wouldn't be seen. Everyone of the students that saw my brief fight came and congradulated me. I felt proud of myself for what I did. If I get detention because of this, it'd be worth it. Hermione sat next to me on my right, while Ron and Harry sat to my left.

"That was amazing, Elsa!" Ron exclaimed.

"Thanks. I got a lot of those lately" I smiled.

"What if you get a detention because of it? What if Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, or even anyone in Slytherin rat you out?" Hermione asked.

"It'd be worth it. I kicked Malfoy's butt. That's worth a night of detention, isn't it?" I smiled. Before we could go on about this any more, Lockhart(That's better. I'll just call him that for the year, he clearly won't stay for next year if another thing like last year pops up) cleared his throat loudly. Everyone fell silent. Lockhart picked up Neville's copy of _Travels with Trolls_ , and held it up to show his own, winking portrait on the front.

"Me" he said, pointing at it and winking as well. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of _Witch Weekly's_ Most-Charming-Smile Award-but I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by _smiling_ at her!" Lockhart introduced. If he says that he doesn't talk about it, then _don't talk about it_. He just talked about it! He is so self-absorbed in himself. A few people smiled weakly at Lockhart.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books-well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about-just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in-" he said. Is he serious!? A test on the first day! Okay, I've read them, but that's still not fair to the rest of us that hadn't. Lockhart finished handing out the test papers and returned to the front of the room. The tests were facing down.

"You have thirty minutes-start- _now!_ " Lockhart said. I flipped over my paper and stared in disbelief at the question. _What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?_ Oh my god, he is SO self-absorbed! I looked at the next few questions. _What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition? What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest acheivement to date?_ I swear, I just want to put stupid answers, just for the heck of it, but my smart side got the best of me. I sighed and wrote down what I thought were the correct answers, and they probably were. After I finished the final question, _When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?_ I sat and waited for everyone, except Hermione, of course, to finish, or for the thirty minutes to be up, whichever comes first.

Twenty minutes later, Lockhart collected the papers and rifled through them in front of the class. Ugh, will all the tests in this class be like this? About HIM!?

"Tut, tut-hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac. I say so in _Year with the Yeti_. And a few of you need to read _Wanderings with Werewolves_ more carefully-I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples-though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky!" he said shuffling through all the papers. Ron and I were staring at him in disbelief, Seamus and Dean, who were sitting in the front, were shaking with silent laughter. Hermione, on the other hand, was listening to Lockhart with rapt attention and gave a start when he mentioned her name. I also gave a start at hearing my name. I just want to be invisible right now, but I have to get through this class, and through this year, even if it means putting up with Lockhart.

"...but Ms. Granger and Ms. Potter knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions-good girls! In fact"-he flipped our papers over-"full marks! Where are Ms. Granger and Ms. Potter?" he asked. Hermione raised a trembling hand, while I hesitantly raised my own.

"Excellent!" Lockhart beamed. "Quite excellent! Take ten points each to Gryffindor! And so-to business-" he FINALLY finished. He finally finished talking about himself! Me and Hermione also got twenty points to Gryffindor. Lockhart bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage onto it.

"Now-be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm" he said. If he brings in _good_ creatures, this class might not be so bad. Harry was leaning forward, around his pile of books, to look better at the cage. Lockhart placed a hand on the cover. Dean and Seamus stopped laughing, and Neville, who was sitting in the front, was cowering in his seat.

"I must ask you not to scream. It might provoke them" Lockhart said in a low voice. The class held its breath while Lockhart whipped the cover off of the cage. Inside, I saw dozens and dozens of those eight inch high, electric blue nasty little mischief makers.

"Yes. _Freshly caught Cornish pixies_ " Lockhart said dramatically. Seamus let out a snort of laughter that even Lockhart couldn't mistake for a scream of terror.

"Yes?" he smiled at Seamus.

"Well, they're not-they're not very- _dangerous_ , are they?" Seamus choked.

"Would they be here if they weren't?" I asked.

"Presisely. Devilish tricky little blighters they can be!" Lockhart said. He walked back to the cage of the pixies. Please don't tell me that he's going to do _that_.

"Right, then. Let's see what you make of them!" Lockhart said loudly as he opened the cage. Yep. He did it.

It was now pandemonium. The pixies shot in every direction like rockets. Several of them shot straight through the window, showering the back row with broken glass. Two of them flew towards Neville, grabbed him by the ears, and lifted him into the air. I shot out of my seat and tried to bring Neville back down on the solid ground, but he was too far up.

"Try your flying ability, Elsa" I heard Hermione suggest. I face-palmed. How could I forget about that? I jumped up and tried to get Neville, but the pixies stopped me. The pixies surrounded me, and flipped me over and over and over again. I couldn't tell which was up or down anymore. As I was flying weirdly, the rest of the pixies were wrecking the classroom. They grabbed ink bottles and sprayed the class with them, shredded books and papers, heh, good thing I made my books non-shreddable, tore pictures from the walls, thank you for taking down Lockhart's pictures, upended the wastebasket, and grabbed bags and books and threw them out of the smashed window. I would try to get them back, but I'm a bit preoccupied right now. Within minutes, about half of the class was sheltering under desks while Neville was still hanging from the iron chandelier and I was flying weirdly.

"Come on now-round them up, round them up, they're only pixies!" Lockhart shouted. Really? Doesn't he see what these pixies are doing to this classroom!? Lockhart rolled up his sleeves and brandished his wand.

" _Peskipiksi Pesternomi!_ " he bellowed. I don't even think that that's a real spell. It didn't even do anything as a pixie grabbed his wand out of his hand and threw it out of the window! Thank you! I'm not getting that. Lockhart gulped and dived under his own desk. Coward!

The bell rang, I think, I don't know anymore, but I saw a mad rush to the exit. In the relative calm that followed, Lockhart straightened up, caught sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and said, "Well, I'll ask you three to just nip the rest of them back into their cage" He swept past them and shut the door quickly behind.

"What are we? Chopped liver?" I asked, still spinning by pixies.

"Don't worry, Elsa. I'll get you loose. _Immobulus!_ " Hermione cast. I felt myself stop spinning.

"Why are you upside down?" I asked.

"We're not upside down, Elsa. You stopped at being upside down" Harry answered. I got myself rightside up, grabbed Neville off of the chandelier, and brought him back to solid ground.

"Thanks, Elsa" Neville smiled.

"You're welcome" I smiled. Spinning that much made me dizzy and nuaseated. I then felt like throwing up. I ran to the trsh can in the far end of the room, and threw up my stomach's contents.

"You okay, Elsa?" Ron asked after a minute. I looked up and nodded before going and helping them put back the pixies.

* * *

"Can you _believe_ him?" Ron roared as one of the remaining pixies bit him painfully on the ear. That's got too hurt.

"He just wants to give us some hands-on experience" Hermione shrugged off, immobilizing two pixies at once and stuffing them back into their cage.

" _Hands on_ " I asked incredulously. Harry was trying to grab a pixie dancing out of reach with its tongue out. I had to resist the urge to laugh. They might be mishief makers, but they can be funny sometimes.

"Hermione, he didn't have a clue what he was doing-" Harry added.

"Rubbish. You've read his books-look at all those amazing things he's done-" Hermione dismissed.

"He _says_ he's done" Ron muttered.

* * *

 **Done. Yay! Hope you enjoyed this long chapter. This was my longest chapter ever. See you later. Review?**


	6. Quidditch gone bad

**Hello. How did you like that last chapter? Pretty long, right? I try not to make them that long, but sometimes the writing part of my brain doesn't listen. I'm happy for all the views that this story is getting. Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

I was sleeping soundly on Saturday morning. Me, Harry, Ron, and Hermione was going to see Hagrid later, but plans change, I guess. I was shaken awake by fourth year Alicia Spinnet, one of the three Chasers for the house team. At tryouts this year, I asked the Captain, Oliver Wood, if Harry could take my place as Seeker if I wasn't able to. After a few minutes of arguing, he agreed. We haven't told Harry yet, not until they need him.

"Whassamatter?" I asked groggily.

"Wood wants us to have Quidditch practice. Come on" Alicia answered. I looked out the window to see a thin mist hanging across the pink-and-gold sky.

"It's the crack of dawn" I argued.

"I know. It's part of our new training program. Come on, grab your broom, and let's go" she said walking out. Yawning and shivering slightly, I got up to find my Quidditch robes. When I found my scarlet Quidditch robes(I like them, but they're not my color), I wrote a note for Hermione explaining where I was. I can't believe we're having practice now, I would rather be seeing Hagrid today! I went down the spiral staircase into the common room with my broom on my shoulder. I walked out and through the halls to the Quidditch field. I took my time getting there. I'm a slow walker when I'm woken up so early in the morning, especially being the night person that I am.

"I can't believe that we're doing this so early in the morning" I complained when I walked in the changing room. The rest of the team was in there already, and Oliver was the only person who looked truly awake. My older brothers, Fred and George Weasley, who were also twins, were sitting puffy-eyed and tousle-haired, next to Alicia Spinnet, who seemed to be nodding off against the wall behind her. Her fellow Chasers, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson, were yawning side by side opposite them.

"There you are, Autumn, what kept you?" Oliver said briskly. Out of everyone in the whole school, he still calls me by my name. I don't mind though.

"Now, I wanted a quick talk with you all before we actually get onto the field, because I spent the summer devising a whole new training program, which I really think will make all the difference..." he started. He was holding up a large diagram of a Quidditch field, on which were drawn many lines, arrows, and crosses in different-colored inks. He took out his wand, tapped the board, and the arrows began to wiggle over the diagram like caterpillars. As Oliver launched into a speech about his new tactics, Fred's head drooped right onto Alicia's shoulder and he began to snore. I had resist the urge to laugh, or to follow his example. He's my older brother, he should be an example for me. Granted, he and George are trouble makers, but all they're doing right now is going to sleep.

The first board took nearly twenty minutes to explain, but there was another board under that, and a third one under that! I wanted to listen and get as much of this as I could into my head, but I was woken up too early. I couldn't concentrate as much as I would've liked to. I sank into a stupor as Oliver continued on and on.

"So, is that clear? Any questions?" Oliver asked, at long last, jerking me from a wistful fantasy about what I could be eating for breakfast at this very moment up at the castle. Yeah, I got a question. Can you tell all this to us again when we're actually _up_ and _awake_?

"I've got a question, Oliver. Why couldn't you have told us all this yesterday when we were awake?" George asked after being woken with a start. Oliver wasn't pleased by that question.

"Now, listen here, you lot. We should have won the Quidditch Cup last year. We're easily the best team. But unfortunately-owing to circumstances beyond our control-" he said glowering at us. I shifted guiltily in my seat. Harry had been unconscious in the hospital wing since the thing with Quirrell happened. I was so concerned for him, and worried, that I lost my A-game in the last match. We suffered our worst defeat in three hundred years. I vowed to my teammates and to myself that it won't happen again. Oliver took a minute to regain control of himself. Our last defeat was clearly still torturing him.

"So this year, we train harder than ever before. ...Okay, let's go and put our new theories into practice!" Oliver shouted. Okay, now I'm up. Oliver grabbed his broomstick and lead the way out of the locker rooms. Stiff-legged and still yawning, we all followed. We had been in there so long that the sun was up completely now, although remnants of mist hung over the grass in the stadium. As I walked onto the field, I saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting in the stands.

"Aren't you finished yet?" Ron called incredulously.

"Haven't even started. Wood's been teaching us new moves" I said, looking jealously at the toast and butter that they brought with them. After this, I'm definitely eating something. I mounted my broom and kicked off the ground. The cool morning air whipped across my face, waking me up far more effectively than Wood's long talk. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy, but he needs to talk less in the mornings when we were about ready to collapse. I soared right around the Quidditch field at full speed, racing Fred and George.

"What's that funny clicking noise?" Fred asked as we hurtled around a corner. I looked down into the stands. Colin was sitting in one of the highest seats, his camera raised, taking picture after picture. The sound strangely magnified in the deserted stadium.

"What's going on?" Wood asked, frowning, as he skimmed through the air toward us. "Why's that first year taking pictures? I don't like it. He could be a Slytherin spy, trying to find out about our new training program" he said.

"Colin's a first year Gryffindor, Wood" I corrected quickly.

"And the Slytherins don't need a spy, Oliver" George added.

"What makes you say that?" Wood asked testily.

"Because they're here in person" George answered, pointing towards the ground. I looked to the ground and saw several people in green robes with broomsticks in their hands, walking onto the field.

"I don't believe it! I booked the field for today! We'll see about this!" Wood hissed in outrage. He shot toward the ground, landing rather harder than he meant to in his anger, staggering slightly as he dismounted. Me, Fred, and George followed. I want to see what all this is about.

"Flint! This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!" Wood bellowed to the Slytherin Captain.

"Plenty of room for all of us, Wood" Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Captain replied with a look of trollish cunning on his face. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie came over by this time. There were no girls on the Slytherin team, who stood shoulder to shoulder, facing us.

"But I booked the field! I booked it!" Wood said, positively spitting with rage. I guess I would be that way too if someone came in during the time when I booked something. I don't like the Slytherins as much as any other Gryffindor.

"Ah. But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape. 'I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train their new Seeker'" Flint said. Of course it was Snape that they went to. He always favors Slytherin over the other houses. New Seeker? Who's the new meat that I can defeat at the match?

"You've got a new Seeker? Where?" Wood asked distracted. From behind the six large figures came a seventh, smaller boy, smirking all over his pale, pointed face. It was Malfoy. I felt myself smile widely and mischievously unconsciously.

"Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?" Fred asked, looking at Malfoy with dislike.

"Funny you should mention Draco's father" Flint as the whole Slytherin team smiled broadly. "Let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team" he said. All seven of them held out their broomsticks. Seven highly polished, brand-new handles and seven sets of fine gold lettering spelling the words _Nimbus Two Thousand and One_ gleamed under our noses in the early morning sun.

"Why are you smiling like that? The Slytherin team has new brooms, Draco Malfoy is the Seeker, and that's getting creepy" Fred asked.

"I'm just imagining the moment where I can beat Malfoy at one more thing" I answered.

"What's the other thing?" Wood asked.

"Comebacks. He's terrible at them" I answered smugly while laughing a bit.

"These are the very latest model. Only came out last month" Flint said loudly and carelessly, flicking a speck of dust from the end of his own. How do you even see that? "I believe it outstrips the old Two Thousand series by a considerable amount. As for the old Cleensweep Fives"-he smiled nastily at Fred and George, who both had Cleensweep Fives-"sweeps the board with them" he finished. He then looked at me. "What's your brooms model? It looks old and gross"

"Like I would ever tell you. It's the not the broom that makes a good player, it's the person on the broom. Even if our brooms are old models, we're still better than you ever will be" I answered. Flint growled at me. Malfoy was smirking so broadly his eyes were reduced to slits, like the snake he is.

"Oh, look. A field invasion" Malfoy said. I looked back to see that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were crossing the grass, probably to see what was going on.

"What's happening? Why aren't you playing? And what's _he_ doing here?" Ron asked.

"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley. Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team" Malfoy answered smugly.

"Like I said, _girl~_ " I sang.

"What did you say, Potter?" Malfoy asked angrily.

"Oh, you heard me" I smirked. Wood got in between us so we wouldn't start another fight.

"Now, now. We don't want to fight, do we?" Wood interrupted. I opened my mouth to respond, but Malfoy kept going on about the brooms.

"Perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleensweep Fives, and whatever _your_ broom is, if it is a broom; I expect a museum would bid for them" Malfoy said smoothly. The Slytherin team howled with laughter.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to _buy_ their way in. _They_ got in on pure talent" Hermione said sharply.

"True, Hermione. Very true. That was probably a bribe to get him on the team" I laughed. The smug look on Malfoy's face flickered. I can't wait until I beat it off in our match against them!

"No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood" Malfoy spat. Right after he said those words, there was an instant uproar. Flint dived in front of Malfoy to keep Fred, George, and I from jumping on him, but managed to jump on Malfoy and started jinxing him.

" _How dare you!_ " Alicia shrieked. Ron flung out his wand and pointed it to a safe place on Malfoy where he wouldn't hit me.

"You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" he growled. A loud bang echoed around the stadium and a jet of green light shot out of Ron's wand! It actually shot out of the right end this time! I'll congratulate him later. Malfoy and I moved so I could jinx him more for saying that to Hermione, but I felt something hit my back, and I flew to the other end of the field.

"Autumn! Autumn! Are you all right?" Hermione squealed. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead I gave an almighty belch and several slugs dribbled out of my mouth. Good thing I was facing the grass and on all fours.

"Nice one" Fred and George commented. I don't know if they meant Ron's spell working or my belch. I hope they didn't mean me burping up slugs. Ugh, that's disgusting! The Slytherin team were paralyzed with laughter, even Malfoy. Flint was doubled up, hanging onto his new broomstick for support. Malfoy, I didn't think he could still laugh after all the jinxes I put on him, but he was on all fours, banging the ground with a swollen fist. The rest of my team, Harry, Ron, and Hermione was gathered around me. I kept belching large, glistening slugs. Ugh, remind me to stand clear of Ron and his wand, especially if he has it out!

"I'm sorry, Elsa" Ron apologized. I opened my mouth to say that he shouldn't be apologizing, but I belched slugs instead.

"We'd better get her to Hagrid's, it's nearest" Harry suggested to Ron and Hermione. The three of them helped me up by my arms.

"What happened, Harry? What happened? Is she ill? But you can cure her, can't you?" Colin asked. He had come down from his seat and was now dancing alongside us as we left the field to Hagrid's. I gave a huge heave and bent down so I wouldn't get slugs on my outfit.

"Oooh. Can you hold her still, Harry?" Colin asked fascinated and raising his camera. Seriously? You want a picture of me burping up slugs!? That's just disgusting.

"Get out of the way, Colin!" Harry urged angrily. Okay, that was rude. Harry, Hermione, and Ron supported me out of the stadium and towards Hagrid's.

* * *

 **Done. I'll stop it there. I don't want every chapter to be like the last one. That was over 4,000 words. That was half of a chapter. I'll do that. I'll write about a half of a chapter of my books for every chapter on here. School started for me today. Yay! Note the sarcasm. Even worse, I have to take a speech class! A freaking speech class! I hate speaking in front of a lot of people. I like to talk if I know the person, and if there's not a lot of people around, but ME speaking in front of 25 people? Heck no! Okay, I'm done ranting. I have a few chapters typed up already from my break, so expect those coming.**

 **Elsa: Why did you make me burp out slugs? ME!**

 **Turtle: Would you rather it be Ron?**

 **Elsa: I would rather it be Malfoy.**

 **Turtle: Well, I got you to put all those jinxes on him.**

 **Elsa: He deserves more though.**

 **Turtle: I agree, but not this chapter.**

 **See you later. Review?**


	7. Slugs at Hagrid's

**Hello. Here's the other half of the chapter from the book. Somewhat of the other half anyway. Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

"Nearly there, Autumn. You'll be all right in a minute-almost there-" Ron soothed as we saw Hagrid's cabin come into view. We were within twenty feet of Hagrid's when the front door opened, but it wasn't Hagrid who emerged. Lockhart, wearing robes of palest mauve today, came striding out. Why did he have to be at Hagrid's today? Today! Of all the other days, why today!?

"Quick, behind here" Harry hissed, dragging me behind a nearby bush. Ron and Hermione followed, somewhat reluctantly.

"It's a simple matter if you know what you're doing!" Lockhart was saying loudly to Hagrid. "If you need help, you know where I am! I'll let you have a copy of my book. I'm surprised you haven't already got one-I'll sign one tonight and send it over. Well, good-bye!" I heard footsteps leaving. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at how narcissisthe is. We waited until Lockhart was out of sight, then pulled me out of the bush with him and up to Hagrid's front door. Hermione knocked gently. Hagrid appeared at once, looking very grumpy, but his expression brightened when he saw that it was us.

"Bin wonderin' when you'd come ter see me-come in, come in-thought you mighta bin Professor Lockhart back again-" Hagrid said. I shivered. I didn't like that Lockhart was a Professor. Harry, Ron, and Hermione supported me over the threshold into the one-roomed cabin, which was really roomy for one-room. Hagrid didn't seem perturbed by my slug problem. How that is, is way beyond me. It's Hagrid! Harry and Ron hastily explained as they lowered me into a chair.

"Better out than in" Hagrid said cheerfully, plunking a large copper basin in front of me. "Get 'em all up, Autumn"

"I don't think there's anything to do except wait for it to stop" Hermione said anxiously. I looked up at her in shock and a little bit of fear before bending down again. "That's a difficult curse to work at the best of times, but with a broken wand-"

Hagrid was bustling around making us tea. His boarhound, Fang, kept trying to lick me.

"Animals sure do love you" Ron said. I smiled and burped up slugs in the basin.

"What did Lockhart want with you, Hagrid?" Harry asked, distracting Fang by scratching his ears.

"Givin' me advice on gettin' kelpies out of a well" Hagrid growled, moving a half-plucked rooster off his scrubbed table and setting down the teapot. "Like I don' know. An' bangin' on about some banshee he banished. If one word of it was true, I'll eat my kettle" he complained. I looked up surprised at Hagrid. It was most unlike him to criticize a Hogwarts teacher. Harry was also looking him in surprise.

"I think you're being a bit unfair. Professor Dumbledore obviously thought he was the best man for the job-" Hermione argued, in a somewhat higher voice than usual.

"He was the _on'y_ man for the job" Hagrid corrected, offering a plate of treacle toffee, while I coughed squelchily into the basin. "An' I mean the _on'y_ one. Gettin' very difficult ter find anyone fer the Dark Arts job. People aren't too keen ter take it on, see. They're startin' ter think it's jinxed. No one's lasted long fer a while now. So tell me-" Hagrid said, jerking his head at Ron. "Who was he tryin' ter curse?" Hagrid asked.

"He was trying to hit Malfoy, but got me instead. Nice shot, by the way. First time I saw a spell come out fairly right" I answered.

"Still sorry about that" Ron apologized.

"Don't be. I already put all those jinxes on him. He won't be able to see straight for a week" I laughed. I then coughed up slugs.

"He deserved it for what he said to Hermione. I could tell it was bad from the reactions" Harry said.

"What'd he say?" Hagrid asked.

"Malfoy called Hermione something-it was bad because everyong went wild" Harry answered. Never let him explain something that he doesn't know.

"It _was_ bad. Malfoy called her 'Mudblood', Hagrid" Ron corrected him. I dived out of sight again as a fresh wave of slugs made their appearance. When I came up again, Hagrid looked outraged.

"He didn'!" he growled at Hermione.

"He did. But I don't know what it means. I could tell it was really rude, of course-" Hermione said.

"It's about the most insulting thing he could think of" I gasped.

"Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who is Muggle-born-you know, non-magic parents. There are some wizards-like Malfoy's family-who think they're better than everyone else because they're what people call pure-blood" Ron added. I gave a small burp, and a small slug fell into my hand.

"That's disgusting" I groaned. I threw the slug into the basin while Ron continued.

"I mean, the rest of us know it doesn't make any difference at all. Look at Neville- he's pure-blood and he can hardly stand a cauldron the right way up" Ron finished.

"You know that he's trying his best, Ron" I scolded.

"Yeah, but that was an example" Ron shrugged.

"An' they haven't invented a spell you girls can' do" Hagrid said proudly. Hermione went a brilliant shade of magenta.

"Nice color, Hermione. That really brings out your eyes" I giggled. Hermione rolled her eyes at me.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, missy" I teased. Hermione stuck her tongue out at me.

"Very mature" I laughed.

"It's a disgusting thing to call someone" Ron said chanding the topic back. "Dirty blood, see. Common blood. It's ridiculous. Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn't married Muggles we'd've died out" he said. I retched and ducked out of sight again.

"Well, I don' blame yeh fer tryin' ter curse him, Ron" Hagrid said loudly over the thuds of slugs hitting the bottom of the basin. "Bu' maybe it was a good thing that Autumn was in the way. 'Spect Lucius Malfoy would've come marchin' up ter school if yeh'd cursed his son. Least yer not in trouble"

"Harry, Autumn. Gotta bone ter pick with yeh. I've heard you've bin givin' out signed photos. How come I haven't got one?" Hagrid asked looking to Harry and me. I would've laughed at his face if I could, but I ended up having a coughing fit and spitting out slugs in the basin.

"We have _not_ been giving out signed photos. If Lockhart's still spreading that around-" I heard Harry said hotly, and loudly I might add. Then I heard laughter, other than me dying. I think that might be Hagrid.

"I'm on'y jokin'" I heard Hagrid say. I then proceeded to hear a smack, and then a thud. My guess would be that Hagrid pat Harry on the back, but it sent Harry face first into the table. I was sent into another coughing fit when I saw that in my mind.

"Die quitely, please" Hermione teased. Oh, I get it. Hermione getting payback for earlier, I think.

"What if I don't want to, Hermione. Maybe I want the whole world to know that I'm dying" I coughed out.

"Don' think he did. An' then I told him I'd never read one o' his books an' he decided ter go" Hagrid said, his eyes twinkling.

"Come an' see what I've bin growin'" Hagrid said as Harry, Ron, and Hermione finished their tea. They walked outside. I decided that it would be better if I stayed in here to avoid burping up slugs all over the place. I didn't want that to happen. I waited patiently as they were talking outside. I was dying, by that I mean burping up slugs and laughing. I was telling jokes to myself in my head. That might make me crazy, but it passes the time, and it also helps to get rid of the slugs. After who-knows-how-long, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid came back inside.

"They should all be big by the time the Halloween feast comes" Ron said.

"I shoul' hope so" Hagrid agreed.

"What were you doing in here?" Hermione asked.

"Dying from all these slugs. Plus, I was telling myself some jokes" I answered with a small burp.

"Looks like it did the trick" she smiled.

"Yep. Now I can-" I started. I leaned over the basin and threw up again.

"Oh come on!" I complained in between the throwing up. I don't know how, but I'm throwing up my stomachs contents. Wait, I didn't even have breakfast today! So, what-? I opened my eyes and saw it. I was throwing up blood.

"Uh...is it bad for me to be throwing up blood?" I asked.

"How's that happening?" Ron asked. I shrugged in response and threw up again.

"Okay, we need to take you to Madam Pomfrey. Thanks, Hagrid" Hermione said as she helped me up.

"You look pale" Ron observed.

"Are you going to keep being Captain Obvious, or are you going to help?" Hermione asked.

"Nice one, Hermione" I complimented before coughing.

"Try not to talk so much" Harry suggested. I gave him a bloody thumbs-up. I suddenly felt light-headed and dizzy, like the pixies were spinning me again. I felt so light-headed that I felt like I was floating. I passed out and fell to the floor hearing faint voices calling my name.

* * *

I slit my eyes open. I saw darkness, but I realized that I wasn't in the Gryffindor common room. I sat up, looking around and wondering where it is I was. Then I remembered, the early Quidditch practice, Draco being the new Slytherin Seeker, me jinxing him, Ron accidently cursing me, Hagrid's, and finally, me coughing up blood. I passed out. Was it the slugs that made me cough up blood, or did someone jinx me through the window? That I may never know. I looked around and saw the hospital wing in the dark. It must be night time right now. I shivered. I'm okay with hospitals, they just freak me out in the dark.

" _Come...come to me. ...Let me rip you. ...Let me tear you. ...Let me kill you_ " I jumped. That was not any voice I knew, and I certainly don't think any of the students or teachers have that kind of voice. It sounded cold, like ice-cold venom. It could chill the marrow in my bones. I'm sure that I wasn't the only person that heard that, right? I didn't see anyone react, or anyone at all for that matter. I don't even see where Madam Pomfrey is. I guess I'll ask if anyone else heard that voice tomorrow. I was really tired, even when I passed out several hours earlier. I laid back down and closed my eyes. I went back to sleep.

* * *

 **Done. I usually listen to all my Harry Potter music on my Spotify account, it gets me in the mood. I just cut myself on a razor blade and I didn't feel it until I looked at my hand. Ouch.**

 **Alice: You deserved it.**

 **Turtle: Alice! What are you doing here!? You're not supposed to be in the story until later! In the summer at the end of the year at the least!**

 **Alice: I was bored, so I wanted to come over and see what you were working on now.**

 **Turtle: Well, now you saw. You also made me tell everyone what was coming at the end of the year!**

 **Alice: Well, I'll just go now.**

 **Turtle: Yeah. You do that. *Alice leaves* Sorry, guys, that was my character from my other stories. I wanted it to be a surprise, but we ruined it for you. THANKS, ALICE! She will come into the story later. I'm going to love writing that part.**

 **Elsa: Why did you make me throw up blood?**

 **Turtle: You'll find out.**

 **See you later. Review?**


	8. Nick's deathday

**Hello. That was a, somewhat, chapter. I wasn't that proud of it. I was typing what I had on mind. Why that was on my mind, I may never know. Can someone help me find a permanent scedule to keep up with this? I usually do every other day or every couple days, but I want some help. Can you help? Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

It was October now, and it was raining hard. I was sent to Madam Pomfrey a few more times for allergies acting up on me. I refuse to believe that it was a cold. I never get cold, so why would I ever get a cold? That makes no sense to me. What also makes no sense to me is how Ginny's getting so pale, and she's being bullied by Percy. I would expect more from him towards his little sister. Draco's scared of me now. That's the one good thing that came from all this. From the fights I was in, someone would think I was in trouble, right? Wrong! I never got detention! I'm both surprised and glad from what Harry and Ron told me about it.

"Elsa?"

Oh, yeah. I asked if they heard that voice, and Harry was the only one, besides me, that heard it! I wonder what that could mean. Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end. The lake rose, the flower beds turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid's pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds. Just how big did Hagrid want them to get for the Halloween feast?

"Elsa!"

Oliver's enthusiasm for regular training sessions was not dampened by this October cold. I would come back from a late, stormy Saturday afternoon a few days before Halloween drenched to the skin and splattered with mud. I'm getting annoyed with these rainy, windy, and late training sessions, but I guess it has its ups too. Fred and George spied on the Slytherin team, they wanted to see for themselves how fast the brooms were. They reported back to us that they were nothing but seven greenish blurs. I was excited to kick their butts in the match!

"Autumn!" I jumped.

"Can you yell that a little louder? I don't think Merlin heard you" I groaned rubbing my ears.

"You were out of it for at least an hour now. Something wrong?" Hermione asked. Oh, I was in my dorm trying to read a book. TRYING being the keyword there. I was still on the exact same page that I started on.

"No, Hermione. Nothing's wrong. I was just reminiscing over the past month" I answered.

"Come on. We don't want to be late" she urged getting me off of the bed. I forgot, it was also Halloween, but Harry made a promise to Nick that he would go to his 500th deathday party. Why anyone would want to celebrate the day of their death, I might never know, but me, Ron, and Hermione aren't letting Harry go alone. After we met up with Harry and Ron, we headed downstairs. I'm starting to regret going with Harry to the deathday party. I heard that the Great Hall was dcorated with the usual live bats, my favorite decoration, Hagrid's vast pumpkins had been carved into lanterns large enough for three men to sit in, and that Dumbledore had booked a troupe of dancing skeletons for the entertainment. Of course, that's just what I heard.

"A promise is a promise" Hermione reminded Harry, but I think she was reminding me and Ron too.

"You _said_ you'd go to the deathday party" Hermione continued.

"I know what will cheer you up, Harry. A good joke, in the spirit of Halloween" I said.

"Let's hear it, then" Harry said.

"Don't drink with ghosts, they can't handle their boos" I joked. **(AN: That might be a bad joke for her to tell, but it was Halloween, so I did it. Sue me!)** Harry, Ron, and Hermione laughed.

"How do you happen to have these on your mind?" Hermione asked. I shrugged.

"Heck if I know" I answered. We walked straight past the doorway to the Great Hall, which was glittering invitingly with all the gold plates and candles. We directed ourselves towards the dungeons. The passageway leading to Nick's party had been lined with candles, which I was grateful for, it was dark down here, though the effect was far from cheerful. These were long, thin, jet-black tapers, all burning bright blue, casting a dim, ghostly light even our own living faces. The temperature dropped with every step we took, though I'm not complaining. As Harry shivered and brought his robes tightly around him, I heard what sounded like a thousand fingernails scraping an enormous blackboard.

"Is that supposed to be _music_?" Ron whispered. I would've probably smacked him on the head if I didn't agree with him. That was NOT music, in our opinion. We turned a corner and saw Nick standing at a doorway hung with black velvet drapes. Yes! My kind of color!

"My dear friends" he said mournfully. "Welcome, welcome...so pleased you could come..."

"I wouldn't of missed it, Nick" I said. I wanted to cheer him up. I probably wouldn't've anyway, just make sure the Great Hall is worse than coming.

"Thank you, Ms. Potter" Nick said. He swept off his plumed hat and bowed us inside. When we got inside, I stopped to look in awe. It was incredible. The dungeon was full of hundreds of pearly-white, translucent people, mostly drifting around a crowded dance floor, waltzing to the quavering sound of thirty musical saws, played byan orchestra on a raised, black-draped platform. A chandelier overhead blazed midnight-blue with a thousand more black candles. Our breaths rose in a mist before us. It was like stepping into the Artic Tundra, not that I ever went there to know what it's like. This is my kind of party. Can we do this every year?

"Shall we have a look around?" Harry suggested.

"Careful not to walk through anyone" Ron warned nervously, and we set off around the edge of the dance floor. We passed a group of gloomy nuns, a ragged man wearing chains, and the Fat Friar, a cheerful Hufflepuff ghost, who was talking to a knight with an arrow sticking out of his forehead. I silently winced. That had to hurt. I was both surprised and not when I saw the Bloody Baron, a gaunt, staring Slytherin ghost covered in silver bloodstains, was being given a wide berth by the other ghosts.

"Oh no" Hermione said, stopping abruptly. "Turn back, turn back, I don't want to talk to Moaning Myrtle-"

"Who?" Harry asked as we backtracked quickly.

"She haunts one of the toilets in the girls' bathroom on the first floor" I explained.

"She haunts a _toilet_?" he asked.

"Yes. It's been out of order all year because she keeps having tantrums and flooding the place. I never went in there anyway if I could avoid it. It's awful trying to have to pee with her wailing at you-" Hermione added.

"Look, food!" Ron exclaimed. I rolled my eyes with a smile. Him and his food. Actually, I think I could go for something too. On the other side of the dungeon was a long table, also covered in black velvet. We approached it eagerly but next moment had stopped in our tracks, horrified. The smell was quite disgusting. Large, rotten fish were laid on handsome silver platters. Cakes, burned charcoal-black, were heaped on salvers. I like black a lot, but not as much to burn food! That's just wrong. There was a maggoty haggis, a slab of cheese covered in furry green mold and, in pride of place, an enormous gray cake in the shape of a tombstone, with tar-like icing forming the words,

 **Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington**

 **Died 31st October, 1492**

I guess he was there when Christopher Columbus discovered America. I have no idea where that came from, but I wouldn't like being dead on Halloween, even if it wasn't Halloween in the beginning. I watched as a portly ghost approached the table, crouched low, and walked through it, his mouth held wide so that it passed through one of the stinking salmon.

"Can you taste it if you walk through it?" Harry asked him.

"Almost" the ghost said sadly, and he drifted away.

"I expect they've let it rot to give it a stronger flaver" Hermione said knowingly, pinching her nose and leaning closer to look at the haggis.

"Can we move? I feel sick" Ron asked.

* * *

 **Done. I'll stop it right there. The Petrifying will start next chapter. Don't forget to tell me my new permanent scedule. Please? I really want to know when you guys want me to update. See you later. Review?**


	9. Mrs Norris

**Hello. That wasn't half the chapter last chapter, but before that was Harry saying yes to going to the party and seeing Filch's kwikspell envelope. I could've put Harry explaining this to them, but I didn't. I might edit it later. I don't know. Also, I got a review about Autumn's nickname. I don't care if Frozen came out in2013, there are other movies that came out before that in this time period. Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

We had barely turned around when a little man swooped suddenly from under the table and came to a halt in mid-air before us.

"Hello, Peeves" Harry greeted cautiously. Unlike the ghosts around us, Peeves the Poltergeist was the exact opposite of pale and transparent. He was wearing a bright orange party hat, a revolving bow tie, and a broad grin on his wide, wicked face. I had my own fair share of run-ins with him, enough for one life-time for me.

"Nibbles?" he asked sweetly, offering us a bowl of peanuts covered in fungus. Ugh, gross.

"No thanks" Hermione declined politely.

"Heard you talking about poor Myrtle" Peeves said, his eyes dancing. Oh boy. This isn't good. " _Rude_ you was about poor Myrtle" then to make things much worse, he took a deep breath and bellowed. "OI! MYRTLE!" he bellowed. Yep. Not good.

"Oh, no, Peeves, don't tell her what I said, she'll be really upset" Hermione whispered frantically.

"I bet" I smiled lightly. Hermione punched me on the shoulder.

"I didn't mean it. I don't mind her-er, hello, Myrtle" she greeted. The squat ghost of a ghost of a girl had glided over. She had the glummest face I have ever seen, and I've seen some pretty gloomy faces, half-hidden behind lank hair and thick, pearly glasses.

"What?" she asked sulkily.

"How are you, Myrtle?" Hermione asked in a falsely bright voice. "It's nice to see you out of the toilet" she added. Myrtle stiffened. I nudged Hermione.

"Nice" I complimented sarcastically.

"Ms. Granger was just talking about you-" Peeves said shyly in Myrtle's ear.

"Just saying-saying-how nice you look tonight" Hermione said, glaring at Peeves. Myrtle eyed Hermione suspiciously.

"She isn't wrong, Myrtle. You look absolutely lovely tonight" I interjected.

"You're making fun of me" Myrtle said, silver tears welling rapidly in her small, see-through eyes.

"No-honestly-didn't I just say how nice Myrtle's looking?" Hermione asked. She nudged Harry and Ron. Actually, that was me who said that she looked lovely, but I'll get you out of this one.

"Oh yeah-" Harry said.

"She did-" Ron added.

"Don't lie to me" Myrtle gasped, tears now flooding down her face, while Peeves chuckled happily over her shoulder. Why does he enjoy these things!? "D'you think I don't know what people call me behind my back? Fat Myrtle! Ugly Myrtle! Miserable, moaning, moping Myrtle!" she ranted.

"You've forgotten pimply" Peeves hissed in her ear. He just had to make it worse, didn't he!? Myrtle burst into anguished sobs and fled from the dungeon. Peeves shot after her, pelting her with moldy peanuts, yelling, " _Pimply! Pimply!_ "

"I'll go after her and cheer her up" I started to chase after when I heard Ron say to Harry and Hermione.

"She justs wants an excuse to get out of the party" Ron said. I turned around and walked back to them.

"Not true. I happen to like this party. This is my kind of party. Now, if you'll excuse me-" I glared. I turned back around and chased after Myrtle and Peeves.

* * *

"Myrtle, I don't think of you as any of those things. You're not fat, you're exactly the opposite actually, you're quite skinny. You're not ugly. You're beautiful, you look lovely. You only make yourself miserable, moaning, and moping. No one can control that other than yourself. You're not pimply either, I don't see a pimple on you" I comforted Myrtle. I finally found her in her toilet after I drove Peeves away. It had taken a lot, but I managed to get Myrtle out.

"Really? You really think that?" she sniffed.

"I swear that's what I think about you Myrtle" I reassured. I was about to put my hand on her shoulder, but since she's a ghost, I decided against it.

"You're the first person to think that of me" Myrtle admitted.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes" Myrtle nodded.

"I hope we can be friends, Myrtle" I smiled.

"I would love that, Autumn" she smiled.

"Elsa. That's my nickname" I corrected.

"All right, then. I would love to be your friend, Elsa" she nodded. I even saw a bit of a smile on that face. I sat down on the floor while Myrtle floated above me. We hung out and laughed at my jokes.

* * *

"I can make anyone laugh, even a ghost" I laughed. Myrtle stopped laughing quickly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I wish I didn't die the way I did" she sighed after a minute of silence.

"Doesn't everyone who died. But, Myrtle, we can't stay and think what we could've changed in the past. You'll lose sight of what you have in the present" I supplied.

"I guess. I met my first real friend" she smiled.

"There you go! Look on the bright side of things! It's getting late. I should get back to my friends. They're probably wondering where I went" I said, even though I told them what I was doing.

"I guess you do have to go, don't you?" Myrtle frowned.

"I'll come back to talk and hang out with you. I promise" I quickly promised.

"Promise?" Myrtle asked.

"Duh. I just said that, didn't I?" I smiled.

"I'm glad to have you as a friend" Myrtle smiled.

"Me too. I've got to go. See you soon" I waved walking out of the bathroom. It got pretty late, so maybe they went to the common room. I was about to head to turn the corner to the Great Hall to look there first, when I heard that familiar ice-cold-venom-like voice.

"... _rip...tear...kill_..."

I don't like the feeling that voice gives me when it talks. I stopped in my tracks. I clutched the stone wall, listening intently. I'm sure the voice came from the wall!

" _...soo hungry...for so long_..."

I really don't like the feeling what the voice was saying!

"... _kill...time to kill..._ "

The voice was growing fainter. I was sure it was moving, and I was also sure that it wanted to eat. To kill! Well, not on my watch! I ran around the corner, into the entrance hall, where I found Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Please tell me you hear that too" I sighed.

"Hear what? I don't hear anything" Hermione said.

"I hear a voice, Hermione" Harry said. I wasn't expecting to hear anything here, the babble of talk from the Halloween feast was echoing out of the Great Hall. Harry sprinted up the staircase to the first floor, me, Ron, and Hermione clattering behind him.

"Harry, what're we-?" Hermione started.

"SHH!" I shushed her. I strained my ears to listen intently, which wasn't that hard. Distantly, from the floor above, and growing fainter still, I heard a voice.

" _...I smell blood...I SMELL BLOOD!_ "

My stomach lurched. Normally, I don't get scared, I scare other people, but this scares me a bit.

"It's going to kill someone!" Harry shouted, ignoring Ron and Hermione's bewildered faces, I followed Harry up the next flight of steps three at a time, trying not to fall, might I add, and trying to listen over our pounding footsteps. We hurtled around the whole of the second floor, Ron and Hermione panting behind us, not stopping until we turned a corner into the last, deserted passage.

"Harry, Elsa. _What_ was that all about?" Ron asked, wiping sweat off his face. Ha! Sucks for him, I didn't break a sweat! "I couldn't hear anything..."

Hermione gave a sudden gasp, pointing down the corridor.

" _Look!_ " she whispered. I looked at the end of the corridor. Something was shining on the wall. We approached slowly, squinting through the darkness. Well, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were, but I can see perfectly. The words made my eyes widen and face pale a bit. Foot-high words had been daubed on the wall between two windows, shimmering in the light cast by the flaming torches.

 **THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN**

 **OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.**

That was what I read. I blinked once. I rubbed my eyes. Finally, I pinched myself on the arm. I'm still here, and so are the words. Okay, so I'm awake. I'm not dreaming. This is really happening!

"What's that thing-hanging underneath?" Ron asked, a slight quiver in his voice.

"It's not a thing, Ron, but a who" I corrected, seeing Mrs. Norris completely clear as day, or night, in my case. They edged forward, Harry almost slipping, there was a rather large puddle of water on the floor. Ron and Hermione grabbed him and they inched toward the message, eyes fixed on a dark shadow beneath it. They seemed to have realized who it was, because they jumped back with a splash. Mrs. Norris was hanging by her tail from the torch bracket. She was as stiff as a board, her eyes wide, staring, and unblinking. It was creppy.

"Let's get out of here" I barely heard Ron say. I think my hearing is shuting down on me.

"Shouldn't we try and help-" Harry began awkwardly.

"Trust me. We don't want to be found here" Ron said, I think. I can barely hear anything anymore, much less move! I knew the feast just ended though, so people would be in the corridors now. From either end of the corridor came the sounds of hundreds of feet climbing the stairs, and the loud, happy talk of well-fed people. The next moment, students were coming into the passage from both ends. The chatter, bustle, and noise died suddenly when the people in the front saw the hanging cat. I stood there in my place, unmoving, unblinking, staring wide-eyed, and paling a bit every minute, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood nearest to the cat, as silence fell among the mass of students pressing forward to see the sight. Then someone shouted through the quiet.

"Enemies of the Heir, Beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" Malfoy shouted. He had pushed to the front of the crowd, his cold eyes alive, his usually bloodless face flushed, as he grinned at the sight of the hanging, immobile cat. I couldn't even move or talk enough to wipe that stupid grin off of his face.

* * *

 **Done. That's the end of that chapter. I'll try to update as often as I can now since this was the last chapter that I had typed up before hand. My dad took my phone and ipad with keyboard away, so I might not update for awhile. If I do, then I'm most likely on the Xbox. See you later. Review?**


	10. Lockhart's office

**Hello. Sorry about the wait. I was spending too much time talking to my boyfriend and watching Charmed for the third time. Plus, I was reading the new book that I got for Christmas. Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

I stood there, pale-faced, and rooted to the spot that I was standing in. I don't know why this was bothering and scaring me so much. That was way beyond me.

"What's going on here? What's going on?"

No doubt that he was attracted to Malfoy's shouts, Mr. Filch came shouldering his way through the crowd. When he saw Mrs. Norris, he fell back, clutching his face in horror.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked. His eyes fell on Harry.

" _You!_ " he screeched. " _You!_ You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll-" he accused.

" _Argus!_ "

Dumbledore had finally arrived, followed by a number of other teachers. In seconds, he swept past Harry, Ron, and Hermione and detached Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket.

"Come with me, Argus" he said to Filch. "You, too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss. Granger. I would ask Miss. Potter to follow, but I don't think she can on her own" he said to Harry. He was absolutely right. I couldn't move, nevertheless talk! My senses are shuting down, but I can still hear and see clearly. Is someone forcing me to go through this torture!? Lockhart stepped forward eagerly.

"My office is nearest, Headmaster-just upstairs-please feel free-" he offered.

"Thank you, Gilderoy" Dumbledore said. The silent crowd parted to let them pass. Lockhart, looking excited and important, hurried after Dumbledore. As did Professors McGonagall and Snape. As Harry, Ron, and Hermione were following them, I faintly felt a tug on my arm, and suddenly I was moving again. I guess I was being pulled along since I couldn't follow on my own. As we entered Lockhart's darkened office, there was a flurry of movement across the walls. Several of the Lockharts in the pictures lining the walls were dodging out of sight, their hair in curlers. Why would his pictures need those!? The real Lockhart lit the candles on his desk and stood back. I wonder if he also sleeps with curlers in his hair. That would be both funny and weird for a grown man to wear curlers, but it would make some sense. That would explain how his hair is so...poofy, I guess. Dumbledore laid Mrs. Norris on the smooth, polished surface and began to examine her. Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged tense looks and sank into chairs outside the pool of candlelight. Hermione pulled me down into a chair next to her. The tip of Dumbledore's long, crooked nose was barely an inch from Mrs. Norris's fur. He was looking at her closely through his crescent glasses. Did I ever mention how cool they were? There awesome! How did they make them like that? Dumbledore's long fingers were gently prodding and poking Mrs. Norris. Professor McGonagall was bent almost as close, her eyes narrowed. Snape loomed behind them, half in shadow, wearing a most peculiar expression. It was as if he was trying hard not to smile. Did I somehow end up in an alternate universe where Snape smiles in the last couple minutes? Lockhart was hovering around all of them, making suggestions. On the other hand, since Lockhart's here, I'm pretty sure I'm in the same universe.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her-probably the Transmogrifian Torture-I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very countercurse that would have saved her..." Lockhart said. His comments were punctuated by Filch's dry, racking sobs. They sounded horrible, in my opinion. He was slumped in a chair by the desk, unable to look at Mrs. Norris, his face in his hands. Much as I disliked Filch, but I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for him. Losing someone is hard, I can tell you that, but from what I saw, Mrs. Norris is all Filch has. I was also worried for us though. If Dumbledore believed Filch, then we all might be expelled for sure. Dumbledore was now muttering strange words under his breath and tapping Mrs. Norris with his wand, but nothing happened. Mrs. Norris continued to look as if she had been recently stuffed.

"...I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadogou, a series of attacks, the full story's in my autobiography, I was able to provide the townsfolk with various amulets, which cleared the matter up at once..." Lockhart said. The pictures of Lockhart on the walls were all nodding in agreement as he talked. What a bunch of bolony. At last, Dumbledore straightened up.

"She's not dead, Argus" he said softly. Oh thank god. I didn't like the feeling of a dead cat. Lockhart stopped abruptly in the middle of counting the number of murders he had prevented. Thank you, Dumbledore, for shutting him up for a second!

"Not dead? But why's she all-all stiff and frozen?" Filch asked, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris.

"She has been Petrified" Dumbledore answered.

"Ah! I thought so!" Lockhart interrupted. No you didn't! Stop being rude!

"But how, I cannot say..." Dumbledore continued. I can find out, and I will. No matter what. I just probably not like the results.

"Ask _him_!" Filch shrieked, turning his blotched and tearstained face to Harry. What is he talking about!? He didn't do anything!

" No second year could have done this" Dumbledore said firmly. At least he was on my side. "It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced-" he continued.

"He did it, he did it!" Filch spat, his face purpling. "You saw what he wrote on the wall! He found-in my office-he knows I'm a-I'm a-" Filch exclaimed, his face working to find the right word. "He knows I'm a Squib!" he finished.

"I never _touched_ Mrs. Norris!" Harry exclaimed loudly. That was loud enough to make me jump a little. Nobody noticed as everyone was looking at him, including all the Lockharts on the walls. "And I don't even know what a Squib _is_ " he added.

"Rubbish! He saw my Kwikspell letter!" Filch snarled.

"If I might speak, Headmaster" Snape spoke from the shadows. As much as I think that he could be a good guy once you get to know him, I still think that whatever he says might not do us any good.

"Potter, his sister, and their friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time" he supplied. My eyes widened. He actually said something helpful. Back to the thought about alternate universes. "But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why was he in the upstairs corridor at all? Why wasn't he at the Halloween feast?" he asked.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all launched into an explanation about the deathday party.

"...there were hundreds of ghosts, they'll tell you we were there-"

"But why not join the feast afterward? Why go up that corridor?" Snape asked, his black eyes glittering in the candlelight.

Ron and Hermione looked at Harry, hoping he had a satisfying answer.

"Because-because-" Harry tried to answer.

"Because they were helping me to the common room" I lied. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all jumped at the sound of my voice. Even I jumped a little at how my voice sounded. It sounded raspy and dry, like I've been crying for hours.

"Without any supper?" Snape questioned, a triumphant smile flickering across his face. "I didn't think ghosts provided food fit for living people at their parties" he added.

"While that may be true, Professor Snape, I was too tired and exhuasted to eat. I was so tired that I stumbled into doors and fell a few times, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to help me up to the common room before heading back to eat" I elaborated. Snape seemed to search me for a moment.

"I suggest, Headmaster, that Miss. Potter is not being entirely truthful. It might be a good idea if she was deprived of certain privileges until she is ready to tell us the whole story. I personally feel she should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until she is ready to be honest" Snape suggested. Yeah, okay. I'll be honest. We were in the upstairs corridor because we were chasing a killing disembodied voice that only me and Harry could hear. Do you think ANYONE would believe that? That says 'Insane Asylum' all over it.

"Really, Severus" Professor McGonagall started sharply. "I see no reason to stop the girl from playing Quidditch. This cat wasn't hit over the head with a broomstick. There is no evidence at all that Potter, his sister, or their friends did anything wrong" she said. At least she's on my side with this.

Dumbledore was giving Harry a searching look.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus" he said firmly. Both Snape and Filch were furious.

"My cat has been Petrified! I want to see some _punishment_!" Filch shrieked, his eyes popping.

"We will be able to cure her, Argus. Professor Sprout recently managed to produce some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris" Dumbledore reassured patiently. Wow. Talk about timing with the Mandrakes. It's almost like she knew that this might happen.

"I'll make it. I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep-" Lockhart butted in. I would NOT trust him with that kind of responsibility. I wouldn't trust him with my life, like some people, (*cough* Hermione *cough*).

"Excuse me, but I believe I am the Potions master" Snape said icily. **(AN: That is so close to my name. You just change the 'I' in the middle to something else. Start guessing!)** A very awkward pause followed afterward.

"You may go" Dumbledore said. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I stood up. We exited the room as quickly as we could without actually running. When we were a floor up, we turned into an empty classroom and closed the door quietly behind me. I saw their faces clearly, but they might be having trouble in the dark. I saw Harry squint through his glasses, most likely to see better.

"D'you think we should have told them about that voice me and Elsa heard?" Harry asked.

* * *

 **Done. Hey! Finally updated! Sorry. This weekend was, technically, my birthday, so I couldn't do much. I also have a lit boyfriend! My life is becoming more complicated by the year. Updates might be slower because of this. See you later. Review?**


	11. I'm Not Dead!

**Hello. So, I bet you saw that I made a separate book for this year, right? It'll be that way for the rest of the seven years. Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

"No" Ron answered, without hesitation.

"I was actually thinking about it when Snape suggested that I don't play Quidditch until I tell the truth of what happened" I admitted.

"Hear this out, guys. We were in the upstairs corridor because we were following a disembodied voice, that apparantely Petrifies cats, that only me and Harry can hear. That just says 'Insane Asylum' all over it" I said sarcastically.

"Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the Wizarding world" Ron agreed. Something in his voice made me think. Does he believe us? Does he think we're crazy?

"You do believe us, don't you?" Harry asked. It's like he read my mind. Is everyone a freaking mind reader!?

"'Course I do" Ron said quickly. "But-you must admit it's weird"

"I know it's weird" Harry sighed. "The whole thing's weird. What was that writing on the wall about? _The Chamber Has Been Opened..._. What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"You know, it rings a sort of bell. I think someone told us a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts once...might've been Bill..." Ron said slowly.

"I'm just spit-balling here, but Ron might be partially right. What if there was a chamber hidden within the school? A chamber of secrets inside, so hidden, that only one or very few people can find it and step inside" I guessed.

"O...kay then. With that guess aside for now, what on earth's a Squib?" Harry asked. Ron sniggered, and I hit him upside the head.

"Ow! Well-it's not funny really-but as it's Filch. A Squib is someone who was born into a Wizarding family but hasn't got any magic powers. Kind of the opposite of Muggle-born wizards, but Squibs are quite unusual. If Filch's trying to learn magic from a Kwikspell course, I reckon he must be a Squib" Ron explained.

"It really explains a lot, like why he hates the students so much" I added.

A clock chimed somewhere.

"Midnight. We better get to bed before Snape comes along and tries to frame us for something else" Harry suggested.

"I better try. I'm a night person" I shrugged.

We walked out of the classroom and to the common room.

"Goodnight" I waved to Harry and Ron as they went to bed. Me and Hermione opened the door to our room and quietly changed into pajamas and got into bed.

"Goodnight, Hermione" I mumbled as I closed my eyes. Sleep took me over.

* * *

For the next few days, the school talked about the attack on Mrs. Norris. Filch kept it fresh in all our minds by pacing the spot where she had been attacked, as though he thought the attacker might come back.

Personally, I want the attacker to come back. That was a CAT it attacked. I'm protective over all animals, even if they don't like me.

I saw Filch scrubbing the message on the wall with Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover, but to no avail. The words still gleamed as brightly as ever on the stone. When Filch wasn't guarding the scene of the crime, he was sulking red-eyed through the corridors, lunging out at unsuspecting students and trying to put them in detention for things like "breathing loudly" and "looking happy". What the heck? That's no reason to give anyone detention!

Ginny seemed very disturbed by Mrs. Norris's fate, though I don't know why, even though she is a great cat lover.

The attack also had an effect on Hermione. It was quite unusual for her to spend a lot of time reading, but she was now doing almost nothing else. At first, I was helping her, so that she could get done quicker, but my eyes hurt reading so much that I stopped, so I visited Myrtle instead. Harry and Ron tried to get responses from us on what Hermione was up to, but we left them in the dark for now. They'll know later.

"So, how long are you going to do this, Hermione?" I asked. We were in the library the next Wednesday.

"As long as it takes to get an answer" Hermione responded. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't believe it" Hermione muttered. She walked back towards Ron, and I followed. Now I saw that Harry was there, measuring his History of Magic homework.

" _All_ the copies of _Hogwarts: A History_ have been taken out. And there's a two-week long waiting list. I _wish_ I hadn't left my copy at home, but I couldn't fit it in my trunk with all the Lockhart books" Hermione complained, sitting next to Harry and Ron. I sat on the other side of Ron.

"Why do you want it?" Harry asked.

"Same reason everyone else wants it. To read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets" Hermione answered.

"What's that?" Harry asked quickly.

"That's just it. I can't remember. And I can't find the story anywhere else-" Hermione said, biting her lip.

"I think I remember. Wasn't it about the four founders?" I remembered.

"I think so" Hermione agreed.

"If you remember, then what is it?" Harry asked. Well, I guess it's story time now.

"Everyone here knows about the four founders. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. three of the four founders worked together tremendously, but the other did not. Slytherin wanted to limit the amount of students who were to come to Hogwarts, that only students of all-magic families could attend. In other words, he only wanted Pure-bloods. The other founders wanted all-magical students to attend Hogwarts, so Slytherin left the school. He thought he could persuade the others to see his side, but they never did. Legends say, that before he left, he made a hidden chamber, and hid a monster inside of it. Only the heir of Salazar Slytherin can open the chamber, and release the monster within" I told. It's just what I remember, but the gist of it is the same.

"Hermione, let me read your composition" Ron said desperately, checking his watch. I just told him that legend, and he asks to cheat on homework! Unbelievable!

"No, I won't" Hermione replied.

"Autumn, can I read yours?" Ron asked.

"Nope. You've had ten days to finish it, Ron" I denied.

"I only need another two inches, come on-" he whined.

The bell rang for next class. Ron and Hermione led the way to History of Magic, bickering.

* * *

"I knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old loony. But I never knew he started all this pure-blood stuff. I wouldn't be in his House if you paid me. Honestly, if the Sorting Hat had tried to put me in Slytherin, I'd've got the train straight back home..." Ron ranted, getting back to earlier topic. We were walking to the common room to drop off our bags before dinner.

Hermione nodded fervently, but Harry didn't say anything. I have a feeling he has a secret. I do too, but Hermione knows. I never told Harry and Ron that the Sorting Hat considered putting me in Slytherin. I can remember, as though it were yesterday, the Sorting Hat talking to me.

I went beside Harry.

"What's up?" I asked.

"What? Nothing" Harry answered.

"You know, if the Sorting Hat actually considered putting you in Slytherin, you're not alone there" I whispered.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah. The Sorting Hat considered me in Slytherin. Actually, it considered me in every House. I have attributes from all four" I admitted.

"I can see Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff, but I don't see any Slytherin" Harry thought.

"The Sorting Hat said that I was very ambitious to succeed in my task" I remembered.

"What task?" Harry asked.

"I don't know" I shrugged.

Colin came past us.

"Hiya, Harry! Hiya, Autumn!" he greeted.

"Hullo, Colin" Harry greeted back automatically.

"Harry-Harry-a boy in my class has been saying you're-" Colin tried.

He was so small, he couldn't fight against the tide of people bearing him toward the Great Hall.

"See you, Harry!" and he was gone.

"What's a boy in his class saying about you?" Hermione wondered.

"That maybe Harry's Slytherin's heir, I expect" I guessed, shrugging.

"People here'll believe anything" Ron said in disgust.

The crowd thinned and we could climb the stairs to the common room without difficulty.

"D'you _really_ think there's a Chamber of Secrets?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. Dumbledore couldn't cure Mrs. Norris, and that makes me think that whatever attacked her might not be-well-human" Hermione answered, frowning. I don't really think it is human.

As she spoke, we turned a corner and found ourselves at the end of the very corridor where the attack had happened. We stopped and looked. It was just like it was the very night it happened, except there was no stiff cat hanging from the torch bracket, and an empty chair stood against the wall bearing the message "The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened."

"That's where Filch has been keeping guard" Ron muttered.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other. I felt my senses going numb on me again, like the night it happened. Why am I shutting down when I see this? It makes no sense. Good thing the corridor was deserted this time, so nobody else could see this.

"Can't hurt to have a poke around" Harry said, dropping his bag and getting to his hands and knees, so that he could crawl along, searching for clues. I can't believe that! It would hurt to poke around, Harry. Yes, it would hurt. And just like that night, I can't talk.

"Scorch marks! Here-and here-" Harry exclaimed.

"Come and look at this! This is funny..." Hermione said.

Harry got up and crossed to the window next to the message on the wall. Hermione was pointing at the top pane, where around twenty spiders were scuttling. It looked like they were fighting to get through a small crack. A long, silvery thread was dangling like a rope, as though they had all climbed it in their hurry to get outside.

"Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" Hermione wondered.

"No. Have you, Ron? Ron?" Harry asked.

Harry looked over his shoulder to Ron. Ron was standing well back from the spiders and sseemed to be fighting the impulse to run.

"What's up?" Harry asked.

"Ron doesn't like spiders" I answered, coming up beside him.

"I never knew that. You've used spiders in Potions loads of times..." Hermione said, looking at Ron in surprise.

"I don't mind them dead. I just don't like the way they move..." Ron shrugged, who was looking anywhere but the window.

Hermione giggled.

"It's not funny" Ron said fiercely. "If you must know, when I was three, Fred turned my-my teddy bear into a great big filthy spider because I broke his toy broomstick. ...You wouldn't like them either if you'd been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and..." he broke off, shuddering.

Hermione was obviously still trying not to laugh.

"What about you?" Hermione asked.

"I love all kinds of animals, spiders included" I answered.

"Remember all that water on the floor? Where did that come from? Someone's mopped it up" Harry said, changing the topic.

"Good thing. Wouldn't want someone to walk through here and slip and fall" I scoffed.

"It was about here. Level with this chair" Ron guessed, recovering himself to walk a few paces past Filch's chair and pointing.

He reached for the doorknob, but suddenly withdrew his hand, as though he was burned.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Can't go in there. That's a girls' toilet" Ron answered gruffly.

"Oh, Ron, there won't be anyone in there" Hermione sighed, standing up and coming over.

"She's right, Ron. I go in there all the time to hang out with Myrtle. No one ever goes in" I agreed. Ignoring the sign on the door, as always, I opened the door and walked in.

I put my fingers to my lips and walked to the end stall.

"Hi, Myrtle! How are you?" I greeted when I got there.

"This is a _girls'_ bathroom. _They're_ not girls" Myrtle said suspiciously. I looked over my shoulder to find Harry and Ron.

"No. I was just showing them how nice it is in here" I smiled.

"Ask her if she saw anything" Harry mouthed to me.

"What are you whispering?" Myrtle asked, staring at Harry.

"Nothing. We wanted to ask-" Harry said quickly.

"I wish people would stop talking behind my back!" Myrtle exclaimed, in a voice choked with tears. "I _do_ have feelings, you know, even if I _am_ dead-"

"Myrtle, no one wants to upset you. Harry only-" Hermione said.

"No one wants to upset me! That's a good one!" Myrtle howled.

"What ever happened to us hanging out Myrtle?" I asked.

"Oh right" Myrtle smiled sheepishly.

"We wanted to ask you if you've seen anything funny lately. Because a cat was attacked right outside your front door on Halloween" Hermione said quickly.

"Did you see anyone near here that night?" Harry asked.

"I wasn't paying attention. I was hanging out with my new friend to notice anything" Myrtle said dramatically.

"I didn't see anything either" I added. I did see a speck of green in the corner of my eye, but I won't tell them that. I was probably just tired or paranoid. We walked out.

Harry barely closed the door to the bathroom when a loud voice made the three of them jump.

"RON!"

Percy had stopped dead at the head of the stairs, prefect badge agleam, an expression of complete shock on his face.

"That's a _girls'_ bathroom! What were _you-_?" Percy gasped.

"Just having a look around. Clues, you know-" Ron shrugged.

Percy swelled in a manner that reminded me of Mum.

"Get - away - from - there" Percy said, striding over and starting to bustle us along, flapping his arms. "Don't you _care_ what this looks like? Coming back here while everyone's at dinner-"

"We're just trying to help and find out who _really_ did this!" I exclaimed.

"Listen, we never laid a finger on that cat!" Ron agreed, stopping short and glaring at Percy.

"That's what I told Ginny" Percy said fiercely, "But she still seems to think you're going to be expelled, I've never seen her so upset, crying her eyes out, you might think of _her_ , all the first years are thoroughly overexcited by this business-"

" _You_ don't care about Ginny" Ron said, whose ears were now reddening. " _You're_ just worried we're going to mess up your chances of being Head Boy-"

"Five points from Gryffindor!" Percy said tersely, fingering his prefect badge. "And I hope it teaches you a lesson! No more _detective work_ , or I'll write to Mum!"

And he strode off, the back of his neck was as red as Ron's ears. Good thing I didn't get that from them.

* * *

That night, we chose seats as far from Percy as possible in the common room. Ron was still in a very bad temper, even with my attempts to make jokes, and kept blotting his Charms homework. When he reached absently for his wand to remove the smudges, it ignited the parchment. Fuming almost as much as his homework, Ron slammed _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2_ shut. To my surprise, and Harry's, Hermione did too.

"Who can it be though?" Hermione asked in a quiet voice, as though continuing a conversation we had just been having. "Who'd _want_ to frighten all the Squibs and Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts?"

"Let's think" Ron said in mock puzzlement.

"Who do we know who thinks all Muggle-borns are scum?" I asked.

We looked at Hermione. Hermione looked back, unconvinced.

"If you're talking about Malfoy-"

"Of course we are!" I exclaimed.

"You heard him - _'You'll be next, Mudbloods!'_ \- come on, you've only got to look at his foul rat face to know it's him -"

"Hey! Be nice!" I defended.

"About Malfoy? Are you nuts!?" Ron exclaimed.

"No! About rats!" I corrected.

Ron rolled his eyes at me.

"Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" Hermione said skeptically.

"Look at his family" Harry said, closing his books and joining in. "The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin. He's always boasting about it. They could easily be Slytherin's descendants. His father's definitely evil enough"

"Actually, that does make sense. They could've had the key to the Chamber of Secrets for centuries! Handing it down, father to son." I agreed.

"Well, I suppose it's possible..." Hermione said cautiously.

"But how do we prove it?" Harry asked darkly.

"There might be a way" Hermione said slowly, dropping her voice further with a quick glance across the room at Percy. "Of course, it would be difficult. And dangerous, very dangerous. We'd be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect-"

"If, in a month or so, you feel like explaining, you will let us know, won't you?" Ron asked irritably. I smacked him upside the head.

"Be nice!" I hissed.

"What we'd need to do is to get inside the Slytherin common room and ask Malfoy a few questions without him realizing it's us" Hermione explained.

"But that's impossible" Harry denied as Ron laughed. I looked at him, and he quickly shut up.

"No, it's not. All we'd need would be some Polyjuice Potion" Hermione corrected.

"What's that?" Harry and Ron asked together.

"I know what it is, and you can count me out of it" I crossed my arms.

"What is it?" Harry asked again.

"Snape mentioned it in class a few weeks ago-"

"D'you think we've got nothing better to do in Potions than listen to Snape?" Ron muttered.

"It transforms you into somebody else. Think about it! We could change into three of the Slytherins, since Elsa doesn't want to do it. No one would know it was us. Malfoy would probably tell us anything. He's probably boasting about it in the Slytherin common room right now, if only we could hear him" Hermione said.

"It only changes your physical appearance, so your voice and personality will stay the same" I added.

"Good, because if I change into Crabbe or Goyle, I don't want to act like them for more than I have to" Harry said.

"This Polyjuice stuff sounds a bit dodgy to me" Ron said, frowning. "What if we were stuck looking like three of the Slytherins forever?"

"It wears off after an hour" I dismissed, waving my hand.

"But getting hold of the recipe will be very difficult. Snape said it was in a book called _Moste Potente Potions_ and it's bound to be in the Restricted Section of the library" Hermione said.

"Hard to see why we'd want the book, really. If we weren't going to try and make one of the potions" Ron shrugged.

"I think, that if we made it sound as though we were just interested in the theory, we might stand a chance..." Hermione suggested.

"Oh, come on, no teacher's going to fall for that. They'd have to be really thick" Ron laughed. He just gave Hermione a person, and I think I know who it is.

* * *

 **Done. Finally. I type during school. I can do it, and post it! Long chapter. I had my first day of ISTEP for two weeks. Someone kill me, please? Bye my little wizard turtles! Review?**


	12. Polyjuice potion

**Hello. Enjoy the next chapter! I will have some fun writing this!**

 **Elsa: Why?**

 **Turtle: You shall soon see, my friend.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

Since the disastrous episode of the pixies, Lockhart had not brought live creatures to class. Good thing, too! Instead, he read passages from his books to us, and sometimes reenacted some of the more dramatic bits. He usually picked me or Harry to help him with these reconstructions. So far, we both had been forced to play a simple Transylvanian villager whom Lockhart had cured of a Babbling Curse, a yeti with a head cold, and a vampire who had been unable to eat anything except lettuce since Lockhart had dealt with him.

I was picked for the animals and the vampire. I have no idea why, but I was.

I was hauled to the front of the class again during our very next DADA lesson, this time acting as a werewolf. I wouldn't admit it to anyone other than Hermione, but I actually like being an animal, even if I'm only pretending. Plus, they want to keep Lockhart in a good mood.

"Nice loud howl, Autumn - exactly - and then, if you'll believe it, I pounced - like this - _slammed_ him to the floor - thus - with one hand, I managed to hold him down - with my other, I put my wand to his throat - I then screwed up my remaining strength and performed the immensely complex Homorphus Charm - he let out a piteous moan - go on, Autumn - higher than that - good - the fur vanished - the fangs shrank - and he turned back into a man. Simple, yet effective - and another village will remember me forever as the hero who delivered them from the monthly terror of werewolf attacks" he said.

The bell rang and Lockhart got to his feet.

"Homework - compose a poem about my defeat of the Wagga Wagga Werewolf! Signed copies of _Magical Me_ to the author of the best one!"

Kill me, please!?

The class began to leave. I returned to the back of the room, where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were waiting.

"Ready?" Harry whispered.

"Wait till everyone's gone" Hermione said nervously. "All right..."

She approached Lockhart's desk, a piece of paper for the library clutched tightly in her hand, me, Harry, and Ron right behind her, much to my distaste.

"Er - Professor Lockhart?" Hermione stammered. I mentally gagged and resisted the urge to actually do just that. "I wanted to - to get this book out of the library. Just for background reading" she held out the piece of paper, her hand shaking slightly. "But the thing is, it's in the Restricted Section of the library, so I need a teacher to sign for it - I'm sure it would help me understand what you say in _Gadding with Ghouls_ about slow-acting venoms-"

"Ah, _Gadding with Ghouls_!" Lockhart said, taking the note from Hermione and smiling widely at her. "Possibly my very favourite book. You enjoyed it?"

"Oh, yes" Hermione said eagerly. "So clever, the way you trapped the last one with the tea-strainer-"

"Well, I'm sure no one will mind me giving the best student of the year a little extra help" Lockhart said warmly, and he pulled out an enormous peacock quill. "Yes, nice, isn't it?" he asked, misreading the look on Ron's face. Mine had something similar. "I usually save it for book signings"

He scrawled an enormous loopy signature on the note and handed it back to Hermione.

"So, Autumn" Lockhart said, while Hermione folded the note with fumbling fingers and slipped it into her bag. "Tomorrow's the first Quidditch game of the season, I believe? Gryffindor against Slytherin, is it not? I hear you're a useful player. I was a Seeker, too. I was asked to try for the National Squad, but preferred to dedicate my life to the eradication of the Dark Forces. Still, if ever you feel the need for a little private training, don't hesitate to ask. Always happy to pass on my expertise to less able players..."

I made an indistinct noise in my throat and then hurried off after Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"That was the fastest I've ever seen your mood change" Harry observed.

"At first, I was smiling at beating Malfoy at Quidditch tomorrow until he said that he'd be 'happy to pass on his expertise to less able players'. He said that he was a Seeker, too" I explained my mood change.

"Doubt it" Ron scoffed.

We looked at the note that Hermione pulled out.

"I don't believe it. He didn't even _look_ at the book we wanted" Harry said as we examined the signature.

"The book _you_ wanted. I'm still out of this" I corrected.

"He's a brainless _git_ " Ron said. "But who cares, at least we've got what we needed"

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms while still following them. Why do I even _try_ to correct these people anymore?

"He is _not_ a brainless git" Hermione said shrilly as we half ran toward the library.

"Just because he said you were the best student of the year-"

They dropped their voices as we entered the muffled stillness of the library. Madam Pince, the librarian, was a thin, irritable woman who looked like an underfed vulture. No offense, vultures.

* * *

" _Moste Potente Potions?_ " she repeated suspiciously, trying to rake the note from Hermione. Hermione wouldn't let go. Lockhart's stupid autograph!

"I was wondering if I could keep it" Hermione said breathlessly.

"Oh, come on" Ron said, wrenching it from her grasp and thrusting it at Madam Pince. "We'll get you another autograph. Lockhart'll sign anything if it stands still long enough"

Madam Pince held the note up to the light, as if determined to detect a forgery, but it looks like it passed the test. She walked away between the lofty shelves and returned later carrying a large and moldy-looking book. Hermione put it carefully into her bag and we left, trying not to walk too quickly. The other three tried not to look too guilty either.

Five minutes later, we were in Myrtle's bathroom again. I was talking to Myrtle, because I didn't want to be involved in this. Hermione and I had overridden Ron's objections by pointing out that it was the last place anyone in their right minds would go, even though I do it. I tried not to listen to them, but I caught some of what they were saying anyway.

"You don't like getting into trouble?" Myrtle asked.

"Not if I can avoid it. I may act like I get in trouble a lot, but I don't, and I'd like it to stay that way" I shook my head and answered.

"This is the most complicated potion I've ever seen" Hermione said.

"Why not quit now and wait until they can actually do it?" I whispered to Myrtle. Myrtle giggled.

"Heard that!" Hermione yelled.

"Because they're stubborn" Myrtle answered.

"True. I can be too, at times" I said.

"Lacewing flies, leeches, fluxweed, and knotgrass" Hermione read.

"Eww! Those are actually ingredients?" I asked.

"Pig's feet is an ingredient in some of our Potions" Hermione reminded.

"Don't remind me" I groaned.

"Oooh, look, powdered horn of a bicorn - don't know where we're going to get that - shredded skin of a boomslang - that'll be tricky, too - and of course a bit of whoever we want to change into" Hermione continued. I gagged on the thought of drinking _anything_ of Crabbe _or_ Goyle.

"Excuse me?" Ron interrupted sharply. "What d'you mean, a bit of whoever we're changing into? I'm drinking _nothing_ with Crabbe's toenails in it-"

"Good luck with that" I chuckled.

"Shut up, Autumn" Ron glared. I couldn't stop laughing.

"We don't have to worry about that yet, though, because we add those bits last..." Hermione continued.

"D'you realize how much we're going to have to steal, Hermione? Shredded skin of a boomslang, that's definitely not in the students' cupboard. What're we going to do, break into Snape's private stores? I don't know if this is a good idea..." Harry worried. Finally! Somebody taking my side in this nonsense!

I heard the snap of a book being closed.

"Well, if you two are going to chicken out, fine" Hermione huffed. " _I_ don't want to break the rules, you know. _I_ think threatening Muggle-borns is far worse than brewing up a difficult potion. But if you don't want to find out if it's Malfoy, I'll go straight to Madam Pince now and hand the book back in-"

"I never thought I'd see the day when you'd be persuading them to break the rules, Hermione" I laughed looking over to them.

"All right, we'll do it. But not toenails, okay?" Ron agreed.

"How long will it take to make anyway?" Harry asked as Hermione opened the book again, looking happier.

"Well, since the fluxweed has got to be picked at the full moon and the lacewings have got to be stewed for twenty-one days...I'd say it'd be readready in about a month, if we can get all the ingredients" Hermione estimated.

"A month?" Ron asked incredulously. "Malfoy could have attacked half the Muggle-borns in the school by then!" he exclaimed.

"I know, but it's the best plan we've got" Hermione agreed.

While we were leaving, and Hermione was checking if the coast was clear, Ron came near me.

"It'll be a lot less hassle if you can just knock Malfoy off his broom tomorrow" Ron whispered.

"I plan on it" I whispered back. I began laughing and my eyes glowed dangerously.

* * *

 **Done. The day I started this chapter, I was hyper on food and Skittles! I had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, Skittles for lunch and more sugar at the end of the day, when I got home.**

 **Alice: That's too much sugar.**

 **Elsa: I agree.**

 **Turtle: Sugar keeps me sane.**

 **Alice: More like _In_.**

 **Turtle: It keeps me insane AND sane.**

 **Elsa: There's no logic in that. How can you be insane _and_ sane at the same time?**

 **Turtle: DON'T QUESTION MY WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL LOGIC!**

 **Bye my little wizard turtles! Review?**


	13. And Dobby strikes again!

**Hello. What will happen during the Quidditch game? Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

I woke early, earlier than I normally do, and lay for a while thinking about the Quidditch match. I was a little nervous for today, mainly at the thought of what Wood would say if Gryffindor lost, but also at the idea of facing a team mounted on the fastest racing brooms gold could buy. I want to beat them to the ground so very badly. After a half hour of laying down with my insides craving food, I got myself up, dressed, and went down to breakfast. I found the rest of the team huddled at the long, empty table, all looking uptight and not speaking much. I'm surprised at Fred and George. They usually talk a lot.

As eleven o'clock approached, everyone headed down to the Quidditch stadium. It was a muggy sort of day with a hint of thunder in the air. Both of my brothers and Hermione came hurrying over to wish me good luck as I entered the locker rooms. Everyone in the team pulled on the scarlet robes, then sat down to listen to Wood's usual pre-match pep talk.

"Slytherin has better brooms than us" Wood started. _Sure_. Start with _that_ , why don't you!?

"No point denying it. But we've got better _people_ on our brooms. We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weathers-" Wood continued.

"Too true" George muttered. "I haven't been properly dry since August"

"-and we're going to make them rue the day they let that little bit of slime, Malfoy, but his way onto their team" Wood finished.

He then turned to me.

"It's down to you, Autumn, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Autumn, because we've got to win today, we've got to" Wood said.

"So, no pressure" Fred added, winking at me.

"I plan on winning. I'll beat his arse to the ground. I've been waiting for this day since I found out he was the Seeker" I smiled evilly.

* * *

As we flew over the pitch, a roar of noise greeted us, mainly cheers. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were anxious to see Slytherin beaten, but the Slytherins in the crowd in the crowd made their 'boos' and hisses heard, too. Madam Hooch asked Flint and Wood to shake hands, which they did, giving each other threatening stares and gripping rather harder than was necessary.

Madam Hooch let out the two Bludgers and the Snitch out before picking up the Quaffle. She then threw it up in the air for the game to begin, with a roar from the crowd.

I flew higher than any of the other players, squinting around for the Snitch.

"All right there, emo?" Malfoy yelled, shooting underneath me as though to show off the speed of his broom.

I couldn't reply. At that moment, a heavy black Bludger came pelting toward me. I avoided it so narrowly that I felt it ruffle my hair as it passed.

I saw one head straight for the stands too. I was about to go and defend with my broom, but Fred beat me to it. He batted it away towards a Slytherin.

"Close one, Autumn!" George said, streaking past me with his club in hand, ready to knock the Bludger back toward another Slytherin. I saw him give a powerful whack in the direction of Adrian Pucey, I don't know how I knew his name, but the Bludger changed direction in midair and shot straight toward me again.

I quickly ducked to avoid it as George hit it again. I shot towards the other side of the pitch. I could clearly hear the Bludger whistling along behind me. What was going on right now? Bludgers never concentrated on one player like this. It was their job to try and knock off as many people as possible.

I shot to the stands where the other Bludger was targeting. From its line of sight, I could see it was trying to head in where my brothers, Hagrid, and Hermione were. If one's after me, the other is heading towards them, my guess is that it's after Harry.

I zoomed above the stands and grabbed Harry up by the gruff of his shirt. He _very_ maturely screamed.

"Oh, relax bro. Do you want innocent people to get hurt because of that rogue Bludger?" I asked.

"How do you know that it's after me?" Harry asked. I helped him onto the back of my broom.

"Well, for one, one's after me, and two, the other Bludger was targeting the stands, and more specifically, the part where you, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid was" I listed. I looked back and saw the Bludgers.

"You'd better hang on, bro. This will be one wild ride" I warned. I began to feel heavy drops of rain on myself. I had no clue what was happening in the game.

"Do you have any idea how many points we have?" I asked while doing a 360 swirl.

"Slytherin lead, sixty points to zero-" I heard Lee Jordan announce. Well, that answers my question.

The Slytherin's brooms were clearly doing their job, and meanwhile the rogue Bludgers kept pursuing us. I'm just glad Fred and George have enough sense not to interfere, cause I got this. I kept dodging the Bludger with loops, spirals, zigzags, and rolls. Being slightly dizzy, I still kept my eyes wide open for the Snitch. I heard laughter from the crowd. Me and Harry must look very stupid. The rogue Bludgers were heavy and couldn't change direction as fast as I can. I began a sort of roller-coaster ride around the edges of the stadium.

A whistling in my ear told me that I had just missed the Bludgers again. I turned right over and shot in the opposite direction.

"Trying for the ballet, Potters?" Malfoy yelled as I was forced to do a stupid kind of swirl to avoid the Bludgers. I glared at Malfoy when I saw it - _the Golden Snitch_. It was hovering inches above Malfoy's left ear - and Malfoy, being the prat he is, was too busy laughing at us to notice or see it.

I just stayed there, in mid-air, not daring to go after the Snitch in case Malfoy saw the Snitch.

I heard a sickening crack, and a pained groan from Harry.

"Are you okay, bro?" I asked him in concern.

"Yeah. I'll be okay. Get the Snitch" he answered.

With that said, I sped toward the Snitch _and_ Malfoy. Malfoy's eyes widened. I guess he thought I was attacking him.

"What the-?" he gasped, careening out of my way.

I took my hands and made a snatch. The Snitch flew away and down below the pitch. Malfoy flew after it, with me closely behind.

We moved through and around the support beams under the stadium. Harry kept an eye on the rogue Bludgers for me while I focused on the Snitch and Malfoy. He was in front of us a bit.

"You'll never catch me, emo" he taunted.

"Oh? You think so, do you?" I asked, trying to keep myself calm. I sped up and started catching up to Malfoy.

"On your left!" Harry yelled. I immediately dodged right. I then felt the whooshing and the wind by me. Looks like I narrowly missed them again.

"Thanks, bro" I breathed.

The Bludger that I dodged hit the bottom of Malfoy's broom. He and his broom was sent flying up and out onto the pitch. He deserved that. The Snitch flew out onto the pitch as well, so naturally, I quickly followed.

The Snitch was within my grasp, flying towards the ground around the goalposts. I reached my hand out and stretched it as far as I could.

But, something then hit my head, hard. It felt like I was about to pass out, but I won't. I shook my head to throw the feeling away for now. I'm ending this.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, concern and worry clearly visible in his voice.

"Uh huh. Fine. I'm going to jump off the broom" I answered.

"Why?" he asked.

"Catch the Snitch" I answered.

"Oh"

I shakily stood up with my hand still on the broom. If I let go, it'll immediately fall, and I won't let that happen. I stood up and crouched, ready to jump. I pushed off hard with my legs towards the Snitch. I made a grab for it as I got closer. I felt something hard, smooth, round, and small when I closed my hand.

I tumbled and rolled until I stopped below the goalposts. I, again, stood up shakily.

"Autumn Potter's caught the Snitch! 150 points to Gryffindor! Gryffindor wins the match!" Lee announced. I smiled, and that was the last thing I did before I passed out, giving in to the darkness.

* * *

 **Done. Yay! Told you I would love writing this.**

 **Elsa: That was last chapter.**

 **Turtle: This is, technically, still the same chapter.**

 **Anyways, I sortof combined the book and movie for the Quidditch match. Sorry about the shorter chapter. Bye my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	14. First detention

**Hello. What did you think of the Quidditch match? Enjoy the dueling club chapters.**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

I awoke to my head giving off a pounding headache. I opened my eyes, only to immediately close them a second after. I opened my eyes again, this time slowly, to adjust to the bright, white lights.

I was looking up to a white ceiling. I groaned slightly. I hate hospitals. Even though this isn't nearly as one, it's close enough.

I started to sit up, only to be pushed back down.

"Take it easy, would ya?" Hermione smiled.

"Well, hello to you too" I greeted.

"Glad you're up" Harry smiled.

"Believe me. I am too. How's that arm of yours?" I asked.

"Better than when Lockhart messed with it" he answered.

"What did he do?" I sighed.

"Instead of fixing the bones, he _removed_ them. Harry had to grow thirty-three bones overnight" Ron explained.

"Ooo. That's gotta hurt" I sympathized.

"So, what did I miss?" I asked.

"Some things, but not a lot" Hermione answered vaguely.

"Oh, gee. That _really_ helps _a lot_ " I said sarcastically.

She _very_ maturally stuck her tongue out. I stuck mine out right back.

"You won" Ron said.

"Yeah. I got that part. I was still conscious then" I said, rolling my eyes.

"I'll get you caught up" Harry offered. He then proceeded to tell me what happened while I was 'down for the count'.

"So, that was Dobby who made the Bludgers go wacko!?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah. He also made the entrance to the train close before we could get through" Ron added.

"He's persistent, I'll give him that" I smiled lightly.

"So, there's a dueling club because of the events going on. I'm in" I smiled.

"No, you're not. You're staying in the common room" Ron started.

"Safe" Harry finished.

"The dueling club is supposed to help with self-defense. If I don't go, how will I defend myself?" I pointed out.

"...Good point" Ron said.

"We can teach you when we get back" Hermione suggested.

"You guys are too protective sometimes. You know that I'll go anyway. No matter what you say" I sighed.

"All right. Fine" Harry relented.

"Yes" I breathed, smiling.

"But, we are keeping an eye on you" Ron added.

"Fine" I agreed.

"So, when can I leave?" I eagerly asked.

"Excuse me, but you got hit by a Bludger, _to the head_ no less, so you can afford to stay and get better" Hermione argued.

"I've been here long enough, Hermione. I need to get up, get out, and have some action, some _adventure_ " I argued back, getting out of the bed and standing up.

"Besides, I feel fine" I added, looking back to them.

"All right then, let's get going. I'm starving" Ron said.

"When are you not?" I asked rolling my eyes.

Ron chose to ignore that as all four of us went to the Great Hall.

"So, you started the potion?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's in the girls' bathroom" Hermione answered.

"I thought you didn't want anything to do with this" Harry thought.

"I don't" I agreed.

Harry chose not to say or pry anymore. We got to the Great Hall, and it looked like they were in the middle of dinner.

"Excellent flying yesterday, Autumn, really excellent. Gryffindor has taken the lead for the House Cup - you earned fifty points!" Percy congratulated.

"Thanks" I smiled.

As I began to eat, people, including the team, came up and congratulated me. The air was thick with rumor and suspicion, with Colin and the Chamber. I watched as first years, of _all_ houses, moved in tight-knit groups, as if afraid to go alone and being attacked.

Ginny, who sat next to Colin in Charms, was distraught. I felt that Fred and George were going the wrong way about cheering her up. They were taking turns covering themselves with fur or boils and jumping out at her from behind statues. If they were trying to scare someone to death, that would be the right way to go. They only stopped when Percy, apoplectic with rage, told them he was going to write to Mum and tell her Ginny was having nightmares. Of course I tried to tell them off too, but they don't listen to me.

Meanwhile, of course hidden from the teachers, a roaring trade in talismans, amulets, and other protective devices was sweeping the school. Neville bought a large, evil-smelling green onion, a pointed purple crystal, and a rotting newt tail before the other Gryffindor boys and I pointed out that he was in no danger. He was a pureblood, and therefore unlikely to be attacked.

"They went for Filch first" Neville argued, his face fearful. "And everyone knows I'm almost a Squib"

"No you're not. You just...need to have more practice. Or a better wand" I suggested.

"No. This is my father's. I want to be like him" Neville said.

I decided to stop, and just leave it. He doesn't know that wands choose the wizard, _not_ the other way around. Let him figure it out for himself that he has the wrong wand.

* * *

In the second week of December, Professor McGonagall came around as usual, collecting names of those who would be staying at school for Christmas. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I signed her list. I heard that Malfoy was staying, which struck me as very suspicious. I know what the other were thinking, that the holidays would be a perfect time to use the Polyjuice Potion and try to worm a confession out of him.

The potion was only half finished as of now. It still needs the bicorn horn and the boomslang skin, and the only place to find them was from Snape's private stores. I'd rather face Slytherin's legendary monster than be caught by Snape. Part of the reason I'm not doing this, and the fact that I don't want to get in trouble.

"What we need" Hermione said briskly as the double Potions lesson drew nearer. "Is a diversion. Then one of us can sneak into Snape's office and take what we need"

Harry and Ron looked at her nervously, then at me.

"I already said that I'm not having _any_ part in this. Other than the fact that I don't steal" I crossed my arms.

"I think I'll do the stealing then" Hermione continued in a matter-of-fact tone. "You two will be expelled if you get into any more trouble, and I've got a clean record. So all you need to do is cause enough mayhem to keep Snape busy for five minutes or so" she instructed the boys.

I smiled feebly. Deliberately causing mayhem in Snape's Potions class was about as safe as poking a sleeping dragon in the eye. I don't like that analogy, but it's the first one that popped into mind.

Potions lessons took place in one of the larger dungeons. Today's lesson went as usual. Twenty cauldrons stood steaming between the wooden desks. Brass scales and jars of varies ingredients stood upon the desks. Snape prowled through the fumes, making waspish remarks at my houses' work while the Slytherins sniggered appreciatively. He even found a remark for my and Hermione's work, even though we are the two brightest witches in our year. Malfoy, who was by far Snape's _favourite_ student, kept flicking puffer-fish eyes at my brothers. They both knew to not retaliate though, if they did they would get detention faster than one could say 'Unfair'.

After Snape had sneered at Harry's work and turned to start to bully Neville, Hermione caught Harry's eye and nodded. Looks like the mayhem is about to start.

Harry disappeared behind his cauldron. A couple seconds later, I heard a sort of fizzing. Harry straightened up, took aim with one of Fred's Filibuster fireworks, and threw it into the air. It landed right into Goyle's cauldron. I quickly managed to take cover under the desk before the potion exploded.

Goyle's potion exploded, showering the whole class, but the Slytherins more. People shrieked and screamed as the Swelling Solution hit them. Malfoy got a faceful and his nose began to swell like a balloon. Goyle blundered around, his hands over his eyes. Snape was trying to restore calm and find oout what had happened. He then saw me under the desk. I was trying very, very hard to contain my laughter. Snape pulled me up roughly.

"What happened?" Snape demanded.

"Goyle's potion exploded. I think he might have put in a wrong ingredient" I explained/lied.

"You dove under the desk like you _knew_ it was going to happen" Snape sneered.

"Who would know _that_ would happen? I was picking something up" I lied.

"Like what?" Snape asked.

"My...contacts. I can't see what I'm doing without them" I made up.

"Lies. You made this happen" Snape sneered.

"No! I swear to everything high and mighty that I'm telling the truth" I exclaimed.

"Detention tomorrow night, and ten points from Gryffindor" Snape turned and walked away.

I rolled my eyes and groaned, and I saw Harry looking at me with wide eyes. I don't know if he caught that, or not. I mouthed to him _'Later'_. He nodded slightly to me.

"Silence! SILENCE!" Snape roared. "Anyone who has been splashed, come here for a Deflating Draught"

I tried not to laugh again as I watched Malfoy hurry forward, his head drooping with the weight of a nose like a small melon. As half the class lumbered up to Snape's desk, I saw Hermione coming up to me, the front of her robes bulging.

When everyone had taken a swig of the antidote and the various swellings had subsided, Snape swept over to Goyle's cauldron and scooped out the twisted black remains of the firework. There was a sudden hush as Snape turned and strided over to me.

"So, you are telling me that you didn't throw this in the potion?" Snape demanded holding up the black firework.

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

"So, you _did_ throw it?" Snape said. I know what he's trying to do. He's trying to do reverse psychology. That's not going to work on me.

"No, I didn't! I swear I didn't!" I exclaimed again.

"We will see" he sneered as the bell rang. I immediately ran for the door, welcoming freedom for the next day until detention.

"You forgot your bag" Hermione said walking out with my brothers. I took it wordlessly and walked away from them, and to my next class, which happened to be with them.

* * *

"Why aren't you talking to us?" Harry asked.

It was the next day, and I haven't talked to them since the Potions lesson. Harry, Ron, and Hermione has asked the same question _all_ day. I'm getting annoyed by it, but if I answer, I know that it'll be me shouting a rant about what they are doing. So, I just won't talk.

I continued reading my book, ignoring him. I heard footsteps retreating but, a minute later they came back.

"You know, they just want to know what's on your mind, Elsa. Why are you ignoring them?" Neville asked. Wow, bringing Neville into this.

"It's nothing, Neville" I dismissed.

"It's not nothing if you're ignoring everyone" Neville argued.

"And I have a good reason for that too!" I exclaimed looking up at him.

"And that would be?" Hermione asked, stepping in.

I motioned for her to come closer. She leaned down with her ear to me to listen better. I put my book in her ear, and slammed it shut. Hermione jumped back and glared at me. I glared right back. I stood up.

"I have to go to detention anyway" I said walking up the stairs to the dorm. I opened the door, put the inside on my bed, and walked back out while closing the door. I walked past the few people in the common room and out the portrait.

I then grumpily trekked to the dungeons. I ignored everyone, except the teachers and ghosts.

* * *

"You're late" Snape sneered.

"It was only a _second_ " I defended hotly.

"Watch your tone, Potter" Snape shot.

"What's the detention already?" I asked. I _really_ wanted to get this over with.

"Some questions for you" he answered.

"That's it?" I asked. I was expecting something along the lines of cleaning the cauldrons or organizing the cupboards.

"Yes. With Veritaserum" Snape sneered holding up a bottle.

"And _there's_ the catch" I rolled my eyes. I just walked up anyway. The faster this starts, the faster it's over with.

"Drink" Snape demanded, handing me the potion in the cup.

I took the potion and drank it. I felt a faint urge to tell him everything.

"What's your name?" Snape asked.

"Autumn Potter" I answered.

"Who are your brothers?"

"Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Harry"

"Did you make the potion explode earlier today?"

"No"

"Do you know who did?"

"No" I lied.

"Okay" Snape said satisfied. He gave me another potion. I drank it, and then felt normal...ish.

"You may go" Snape said.

"That's it?" I asked.

"Yes. Now go before I change my mind" Snape sneered.

I quickly walked out of there and back to the Gryffindor common room.

"That was fast" Hermione observed when I walked back in.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Nothing much. Just asked questions" I shrugged.

"That's it?" Ron asked.

"That's it" I confirmed.

"I'm going to turn in for the night. Good night" I waved already going up the stairs.

* * *

 **Done. I have this allegory thing in my English class. I'm thinking of a twin story with my OCs, but I don't know if I want to do First person P.O.V, like in all my stories, or third person P.O.V. Help me, please! See you later my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	15. Parselwhat?

**Hello. How'd you like that? That last chapter was sort of a filler. Who's up for my first summer chapter!? Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

It was a week later from my detention. Me, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were walking across the entrance hall when we saw a small amount of people gathered around the notice board, reading a piece of parchment that had just been pinned up. Seamus and Dean beckoned us over, looking excited.

"First meeting of the Dueling Club tonight! I wouldn't mind dueling lessons. They might come in handy one of these days..." Seamus said.

"What, you reckon Slytherin's monster can duel?" Ron said sarcastically.

I then proceeded to slap him upside the head.

"Could be useful, you know" I scolded him.

"Never said it wasn't" Ron defended.

Then, we went to the Great Hall before classes.

* * *

At eight o'clock, we hurried back to the Great Hall for the Dueling Club. The long tables disappeared and a golden stage had appeared in the middle of the room, lit by thousands of candles floating overhead. The ceiling was velvety black once more and most of the school's students seemed to be packed beneath it, all carrying their wands and looking excited.

"I wonder who'll be teaching us" Hermione wondered as we edged into the crowd. "Someone told me Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young - maybe it'll be him"

"As long as it's not -" Harry and I began, but we ended on a groan, and just about died right there and then. Gilderoy Lockhart was walking onto the stage, resplendent in robes of deep plum and accompanied by none other than Snape, wearing his usual black.

Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called, "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!"

"Wish I didn't see or hear right now" I whispered to Ron.

"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions - for full details, see my published works.

Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape" Lockhart said, flashing a wide smile.

"Is he sure that he isn't?" I asked Ron, who snorted.

"He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry - you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

"Wouldn't it be good if they finished each other off?" Ron whispered, just loud enough for me and Harry to hear.

"It wouldn't _just_ be good, it would be _fantastic_!" I laughed.

Snape's upper lip was curling. I wonder why Lockhart was still smiling. If Snape had been looking at _me_ like that I'd most likely be running as fast as I could in the opposite direction.

Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed. At least Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Snape jerked his head irritably. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position" Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."

"I wouldn't bet on that" Harry murmured, watching Snape bare his teeth.

"One - two - three -"

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent.

" _Expelliarmus!_ " Snape cried.

There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet. He flew backward off the stage, smash into the wall on the far side of the room, and slid down on it to sprawl on the floor.

Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins cheered. Hermione was dancing on tiptoes.

"Do you think he's all right?" she asked through her fingers.

"Who cares?" Ron, Harry, and I chorused.

Lockhart was getting unsteadily to his feet. His hat had fallen off and his wavy hair was standing on end.

"Well, there you have it!" he said, tottering back onto the platform. "That was a Disarming Charm - as you see, I've lost my wand - ah, thank you, Miss Brown - yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only to easy - however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see..."

"Perhaps it would be proven to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor" Snape suggested.

"An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape. Let's have a volunteer pair" he said looking at all the students.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. How about you?" he called.

"Weasley's wand causes devastation with the simplest of spells. We'll be sending Potter to the hospital wing in a match box. As I suggest, someone from my own House. Malfoy, perhaps?" Snape sneered. He turned and directed Malfoy up to the stage where Harry was. Snape and Lockhart stood at the ends of the stage while Malfoy and Harry walked towards the middle.

"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart instructed. Harry and Malfoy took their wands in their right hands, and put them in front of their faces. Why they do that in dueling is beyond me.

"Scared, Potter?" Malfoy taunted.

"You wish" Harry answered.

Then, they brought their wands to their sides. They turned and walked away from each other, and towards Snape and Lockhart.

"On the count of three, cast your charms to disarm your opponent - _only_ to disarm. We don't want any accidents here" Lockhart instructed.

"One - two -" he started.

" _Everte Statum!_ " Malfoy cast. The blast that came out sent Harry across the stage. He got up.

" _Rictusempra!_ " Harry retaliated. This time, Malfoy was blown across the stage with a silver light. He landed in front of Snape. He bent down and roughly picked him up, and shoved him forward.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart reminded.

" _Serpensortia_!" Malfoy cast. Then, out of his wand and in the middle of the stage, there was a big, green snake. It slithered toward Harry. He put his wand down and stared at it.

"Don't worry, Potter. I'll get rid of it for you" Snape said walking toward them.

"Allow me, Professor Snape. _Alarte Ascendare!_ " Lockhart cast.

All it did was propell the snake up, and straight back down again. The snake turned toward us, mostly Justin, who was next to me.

I went in front of him and stood there protectively.

" _If you want to get to him,_ _you have to go through me_ " I hissed.

" _Leave them alone!_ " Harry shouted. I bet we look stupid yelling at a snake.

But, miraculously - inexplicably - the snake slumped to the floor, docile as a thick, green garden hose, its eyes now on Harry. Now, I knew the snake wouldn't attack anyone now, though how I knew it, is beyond me.

I looked behind me to Justin, concerned, expecting to see him looking relieved, or puzzled, or even grateful - but certainlcertainly not angry and scared. That is what puzzled me.

"What do you you two are playing at?" he shouted, and before me or Harry could say anything, Justin had turned and stormed out of the hall.

Snape stepped forward, waved his wand, and the snake vanished in a small puff of black smoke. Snape, too, was looking at me and Harry in an unexpected way. It was a shrewd and calculating look, and I didn't like it. Ron was tugging at the back of his robes, and I felt tugging at the back of my own.

"Come on" Hermione's voice urged in my ear. "Move - come _on_ -"

Hermione steered me out of the hall quickly, Ron hurrying with Harry. As we went through the doors, the people on either side drew away as though they were frightened of catching something. I didn't have a clue as to what was going on, and neither did Harry, by the looks of it, and neither Ron nor Hermione explained anything until they had dragged us all the way up to the empty Gryffindor common room. Then Ron pushed Harry onto the couch, while Hermione pushed me down next to him.

"You're Parselmouths. Why didn't you tell us?" Ron started the conversation.

"I'm a what?" me and Harry asked at the same time.

" _Parselmouths!_ You guys can talk to snakes!" Ron explained.

"I know" Harry said. "I mean, that's only the second time I've ever done it. I accidentally set a boa constrictor on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once - long story - but it was telling me it had never seen Brazil and I sort of set it free without meaning to - that was before I knew I was a wizard -"

"A boa constrictor told you it had never seen Brazil?" Hermione repeated faintly.

"I bet Dudley deserved you setting that snake loose" I sniggered.

"Believe me. He did" Harry said.

"I bet loads of people here can do it" Harry continued.

"I've never heard of it until now" I admitted.

"It's not a very common gift. Harry, Elsa, this is bad" Hermione said.

"What's bad?" Harry said, starting to go quite angry. "What's wrong with everyone? Listen, if we hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin -"

"Oh, that's what you guys said to it?"

"What d'you mean? You were there - you heard us -"

"I heard you two speaking Parseltongue. Snake language. You could have been saying anything - no wonder Justin panicked, you guys sounded like you were egging the snake on or something - it was creepy, you know -" Ron explained.

Harry and I gaped.

"We spoke a different language? But - I didn't realize - how can I speak a language without knowing I can speak it?" Harry asked.

Ron shook his head. Both he and Hermione were looking as though someone had died. I really couldn't see what was wrong.

"D'you want to tell me what's wrong with stopping a massive snake biting off Justin's head?" I asked.

"What does it matter _how_ we did it as long as Justin doesn't have to join the Headless Hunt?" Harry added.

"It matters" Hermione said, speaking in a hushed voice, "because being able to talk to snakes was what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. That's why the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent"

Harry's mouth fell open.

"Exactly" Ron agreed. "And now the whole school's going to think you're his great-great-great-great-grandchildren or something -"

"But we're not" me and Harry said, slightly panicky for some reason.

"You'll find that hard to prove" Hermione said. "He lived about a thousand years ago. For all we know, you could be"

* * *

I lay awake in my bed that night, not reading. Through a gap in the curtains around my four-poster, I watched snow starting to drift past the window and wondered.

 _Could_ I be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin? I don't know anything about my family other than what Molly and Arthur told me. They were good people. I don't think I'm a descendant of him. I also have this feeling in my gut that tells me that too.

But I'm in Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat wouldn't have put me in here if I had Slytherin blood...

Ah, but the Sorting Hat said that you had attributes of every House, _including_ Slytherin, don't you remember?

I turned over. I'd see Justin in Herbology tomorrow, so I can explain that me and Harry were calling the snake off, not egging it on, which any person should have realized.

* * *

By morning, however, the snow from last night had turned into a blizzard so thick that the last Herbology lesson of the term was cancelled. Professor Sprout wanted to fit socks and scarves on the Mandrakes, a tricky operation she would entrust to no one else, now that it was so important for the Mandrakes to grow quickly and revive Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey.

I slightly fretted about this next to the fire iin the common room, while Ron and Harry used the time to play a game of wizard chess, and Hermione was reading a book.

"For heaven's sake, Elsa" Hermione said, exasperated, as of Ron's bishops wrestled Harry's knight off his horse and dragged him off the board. "Go and _find_ Justin if it's so important to you"

I got up and left through the portrait hole, wondering where Justin might be.

The castle was darker than it usually was in daytime because of the thick, swirling gray snow at every window. I walked past classrooms where lessons were taking place, catching snatches of what was happening within. Professor McGonagall was shouting at someone who, by the sound of it, had turned his friend into a badger. Resisting the urge to laugh and take a look, I walked on by, thinking that Justin might be using his free time to catch up on some work, and deciding to check the library first.

* * *

 **Done. Wow, that was a lot of writing/typing. WHOO! SUMMER BREAK, BOI!**

 **Elsa: What does that mean?**

 **Turtle: That means I can do WAY more in the next two months!**

 **See you later my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	16. Another attack

**Hello. Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

A group of Hufflepuffs who should have ben in Herbology were indeed sitting at the back of the library, but they didn't seem to be working. Between the long lines of high bookshelves, I could see that their heads were close together and they were having what looked like an absorbing conversation. I couldn't see whether Justin was among them. I was walking toward them when something of what they were saying met my ears, and I paused to listen, hidden in the Invisibility section.

"So anyway" a stout boy was saying, "I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if the Potters marked him down as their next victim, it's best if he keeps a low profile for a while. Of course, Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to Harry he was Muggle-born. Justin actually _told_ him he'd been down for Eton. That's not the kind of thing you bandy about with Slytherin's heir on the loose, is it?"

"You definitely think it _is_ the Potters, then, Ernie?" a girl asked with blonde pigtails anxiously.

"Hannah" Ernie said solemnly, "they're Parselmouths. Everyone knows that's the mark of a Dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue"

There was some heavy murmuring at this, and Ernie went on, "Remember the writing on the wall? _Enemies of the Heir, Beware._ Harry had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat's attacked. That first year, Creevey, was annoying both of them at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of them laying in the mud. Next thing we know - Creevey's been attacked"

"They always seem so nice, though" Hannah said uncertainly, "and, well, their the one's who made You-Know-Who disappear. They can't be all bad, can they?"

Eenie lowered his voice mysteriously, the Hufflepuffs bent closer and I edged nearer so that I could catch Ernie's words.

"No one knows how they survived that attack by You-Know-Who. I mean to say, they were only babies when it happened. They should have been blasted to smithereens. Only a really powerful Dark wizard could have survived a curse like that"

He dropped his voice until it was barely more than a whisper, and said " _That's_ probably why You-Know-Who wanted to kill them in the first place. Didn't want two more Dark Lords _competing_ with him. I wonder what other powers they've been hiding?"

I couldn't take it anymore. Clearing my throat loudly, I stepped out from behind the bookshelves. If I hadn't been feeling so angry, I would have found the sight that greeted me funny. Every one of the Hufflepuffs looked as though they had been Petrified by the mere sight of me, and the color was draining out of Ernie's face.

"Hi. I'm just looking for Justin Finch-Flectchley" I greeted, like nothing ever happened.

The Hufflepuffs looked fearfully at Ernie.

"What do you want with him?" Ernie asked in a quavering voice.

"I just want to talk to him. To tell him what really happened with that snake at the Dueling Club" I explained.

Ernie bit his white lips, then taking a deep breath, said, "We were all there. We saw what happened"

"Then you noticed that after me and Harry spoke to it, the snake _backed off_?" I asked.

"All I saw" Ernie said stubbornly, though he was trembling as he spoke, "was you and Harry speaking Parseltongue and chasing the snake toward Justin"

"We didn't chase it at him! It didn't even _touch_ him!" I defended, my voice shaking with anger.

"It was a very near miss" Ernie argued.

"And in case you're getting ideas. I might tell you that you can trace my family back through nine generations of witches and warlocks and my blood's as pure as anyone's, so-" he added hastily.

"I don't care what sort of blood you've got!" I said fiercely. "Why would Harry and I want to attack Muggle-borns?"

"I've heard Harry hates those Muggles he lives with" Ernie said swiftly.

"It's not possible to live with the Dursleys and not hate them. Even with my short time of 10 minutes I hated them. I'd like to see you try it" I said.

I turned on my heel and stormed out of the library, earning myself a reproving glare from Madam Pince, who was polishing the gilded cover of a large spell book.

I blundered up the corridor, barely noticing where I was going, I was in such a fury. The result was that I walked into something very large and solid, which knocked me backward onto the floor.

"Oh, hi, Hagrid" I greeted, looking up.

Hagrid's face was hidden by a wooly, snow-covered balaclava, but it couldn't possibly be anyone else, as he filled most of the corridor in his moleskin overcoat. A dead rooster was hanging from one of his massive, gloved hands.

"All righ', Autumn?" he asked, pulling up the balaclava so he could speak. "Why aren't yeh in class?"

"Canceled" I answered, getting up. "What're you doing in here?"

Hagrid held up the limp rooster.

"Second one killed this term" he explained. "It's either foxes or a Blood-Suckin Bugbear, an'I need the Headmaster's permission ter put a charm around the hen coop"

He peered more closely at me from under his thick, snowflecked eyebrows.

"Yeh sure yeh're all righ'? Yeh look all hot an'bothered-"

I just couldn't bring myself to repeat what Ernie and the rest of the Hufflepuffs had been saying about me and Harry.

"It's nothing" I lied. Oh, Merlin, I hate lying! "I'd better get going, Hagrid, it's Transfiguration next and I've got to pick up my books"

I walked off, my mind still full of what Ernie had said.

 _"Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to Harry he was Muggle-born..."_

I stamped up the stairs and turned along another corridor, which was particularly dark. The torches had been extinguished by a strong, icy draft that was blowing through a loose windowpane. I was halfway down the corridor when I tripped headlong over something lying on the floor.

I turned to see what I'd fallen over and felt as though my stomach had dissolved again.

Justin Finch-Flectchley was lying on the floor, rigid and cold, a look of pure shock frozen on his face, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. And that wasn't all. Next to him was another figure, and it was the _strangest_ sight I had _ever_ seen.

It was Nick, no longer pearly-white and transparent, but black and smoky, floating immobile and horizontal, six inches off the floor. His head was half off and his face wore an expression of pure shock identical to Justin's.

I got to my feet, my breathing very fast and shallow, my heart doing a kind of drumroll against my ribs. I looked wildly up and down the deserted corridor and saw a line of spiders scuttling as fast as they could away from the bodies. The only sounds were the muffled voices of teachers from the classes on either side. Why would anyone do this in the middle of the day when could've caught them?

I could run, and no one would ever know I was here. But I can't just leave them lying there...I had to get help...but, would anyone believe that I hadn't had anything to do with this? Besides Harry, Ron, and Hermione, of course.

As I stood still in my spot, panicking, a door right next to me opened with a bang. Peeves came shooting out.

"Why, it's a potty wee Potter twin!" cackled Peeves. "What's this Potter up to? Why's this Potter lurking-"

Before I could deny or say anything, Peeves stopped, halfway through a midair somersault. Upside down, he spotted Justin and Nick. He flipped the right way up, filled his lungs, and before I could do anything to stop him, he screamed.

"ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!" he screamed.

 _Crash_ \- _crash_ \- _crash -_ door after door flew open along the corridor and people flooded out. For several long minutes, there was a scene of such confusion that Justin was in danger of being squashed and people kept standing _in_ Nick. I found myself pinned against the wall as the teachers shouted for quiet. Professor McGonagall came running, followed by her own class, one of whom still had black-and-white-striped hair. She used her wand to set off a loud bang, which restored silence, and ordered everyone back into their classes. No sooner had the scene cleared, somewhat, than Ernie the _great_ Hufflepuff arrived, panting, on the scene.

"Caught in the act!" Ernie yelled, his face stark white, pointing his finger at me dramatically.

"That will do, Macmillan!" Professor McGonagall said sharply.

Peeves was bobbing overhead, now grinning wickedly, surveying the scene below him. As the teachers bent over Justin and Nick, examining them, Peeves broke into song.

"Oh, Potter, you rotter, oh, what have you done. You're killing off students, you think it's good fun-"

"That's enough, Peeves!" Professor McGonagall barked. Peeves zoomed away backward, with his tongue out at me. I just stuck out my tongue right back at him.

Justin was carried up to the hospital wing by Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra of the Astronomy department, but nobody seemed to know what to do for Nick. In the end, Professor McGonagall conjured a large fan, which she gave to Ernie with instructions to waft Nick up the stairs. This he did, fanning Nick along like a silent black hovercraft. I was laughing in my head. That looks so stupid. I wonder if Ernie feels stupid doing that.

"This way, Potter" Professor McGonagall said.

"Professor, I swear I didn't-" I said at once.

"This is out of my hands, Potter" Professor McGonagall said curtly.

We marched in silence around a corner and she stopped before a large and extremely beautiful stone gargoyle. It looked golden, and the wings were spread out a bit, but still enough room to move inside of the little nook that it was in.

"Lemon drop!" Professor McGonagall said. This was evidently a password, because the gargoyle suddenly sprang to life and circled upwards, like an escalator. Even full of dread for what was coming, I couldn't help but feel amazed.

Professor McGonagall and I stepped on the circling stairs. We rose higher and higher, until at last, being slightly dizzy, I saw a gleaming oak door ahead, with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffin.

I now knew where I was being taken. This must be Dumbledore's office.

* * *

 **Done. I know you might be confused on where the chapter I posted earlier was. I accidentally skipped it, so I posted it and put it in the right place. Chapter 12 is the new one. Sorry for the mix-up! Bye my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	17. Dumbledore's office

**Hello. I'll just make this one long chapter because Elsa isn't a part of the scheme. Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

We stepped off the stone staircase. at the top, and Professor McGonagall knocked on the door. It opened silently and we entered. Professor McGonagall told me tto wait and left me here, alone.

I looked around. One thing was certain, of all the teacher's offices, Dumbledore's was by far the most interesting. If I hadn't been scared out of my wits that I was about to be thrown out of school, I would have been very pleased to have a chance to look around it.

It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and sitting on a shelf next to it on the wall, a shabby, tattered wizard's hat - the Sorting Hat.

A strange, gagging noise behind me made me wheel around.

I wasn't alone after all. Standing on a golden perch by the desk was a decrepit-looking bird that resembled a half-plucked turkey. I stared at the bird and the bird looked balefully back, making its gagging noise again. I thought it looked very ill. Its eyes were dull, and even as I watched, a couple more feathers fell out of its tail.

I was just thinking that all I needed was for Dumbledore's pet bird to die, even though I usually don't think that way, the bird looked really bad, while I was alone in the office with it, when the bird burst into flames.

I yelled in shock and surprise, and backed away into the middle of the room. I looked feverishly around in case there was a glass of water somewhere but couldn't see one. The bird, meanwhile, had become a fireball, it gave one loud shriek and next second there was nothing but a smoldering pile of ash on the floor.

The office door opened. Dumbledore came in, looking very somber.

"Professor. Your bird - I couldn't do anything - he just caught fire-" I gasped.

To my astonishment, Dumbledore smiled.

"About time, too. He's been looking dreadful for days. I've been telling him to get a move on" he said.

He chuckled at the look on my face. It was a mix between stunned and confused.

"Fawkes is a phoenix, Autumn. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes. Watch him..." he explained.

I looked down in time to see a tiny, wrinkled, newborn bird poke its head out of the ashes. It didn't look as bad as the old one.

"Aw. The circle of life" I commented.

"It's a shame you had to see him on a Burning Day" Dumbledore said, seating himself behind his desk.

"At least I saw the circle of life for a phoenix" I shrugged.

"He's really very handsome most of the time, wonderful red and gold plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets" Dumbledore nodded.

In the shock of Fawkes catching fire, I actually had forgotten what I was here for, but it all came back to me as Dumbledore settled himself in the high chair behind the desk and fixed me with his penetrating, light blue stare.

Before either of us could speak another word, however, the door of the office flew open with an almighty bang (hey! Sensitive ears, here!) and Hagrid burst in, a wild look in his eyes, his balaclava perched on top of his shaggy black head and the dead rooster still swinging from his hand. Oh, that poor rooster.

"It wasn' Autumn, Professor Dumbledore! I was talkin' ter her _seconds_ before that kid was found, she never had time, sir-" Hagrid said urgently. Don't forget the ghost.

Dumbledore tried to say something, but Hagrid went ranting on, waving the rooster around in his agitation, sending feathers everywhere, even on me. Again, that poor rooster.

"It can't've bin her, I'll swear it in front o'the Ministry o'Magic if I have to"

"Hagrid, I-"

"-yeh've got the wrong person, sir, I _know_ Autumn never-"

" _Hagrid_!" Dumbledore interrupted loudly. "I do _not_ think that Autumn attacked those people"

"Oh" Hagrid said, the rooster falling limply at his side. "Right. I'll wait outside then, Headmaster"

And he stomped out looking embarrassed.

"You don't think it was me, Professor?" I repeated hopefully as Dumbledore brushed rooster feathers off his desk. I also brushed feathers off of myself.

"No, Autumn, I don't" Dumbledore said, though his face was somber again. "But I still want to talk to you"

I waited nervously while Dumbledore considered me, the tips of his long fingers together.

"I must ask you, Autumn, whether there is anything you'd like to tell me. Anything at all" he said gently.

I didn't know what to say. I thought of Malfoy shouting, 'You'll be next, Mudbloods!' and of the stupid Polyjuice Potion simmering away in Myrtle's bathroom. Then I thought of the disembodied voice I had heard twice and remembered what Ron said, 'Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the Wizarding world.' I thought, too, about what everyone was saying about me and Harry, and my growing dread that we were somehow connected with Salazar Slytherin...

"No" I lied. "There isn't anything, Professor..." I mean most of those aren't mine to tell. If I did, I would be called a snitch, or a tattle-tale.

* * *

The double attack on Justin and Nick turned what had hitherto been nervousness into real panic. Curiously, it was Nick's fate that seemed to worry people most. What could possibly do that to a ghost? People asked each other, what terrible power could harm someone who was already dead? That just seems impossible to me. There was a stampede to book seats on the Hogwarts Express so that students could go home for Christmas.

"At this rate, we'll be the only ones left" Ron told us.

"Well, plus Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Wow. What a _fantastic_ holiday it's going to be" I added.

Crabbe and Goyle, who always did whatever Malfoy did, had signed up to stay over the holidays, too. But I was glad that most people were leaving. I was so tired of people skirting around me in the corridors, as though I was about to sprout fangs, not like I already had them, or spit poison. I'm sure Harry was tired of all the muttering, pointing, and hissing too as we passed.

Fred and George, however, found this all very funny. They went out of their way to march ahead of us down the corridors, shouting, "Make way for the Heirs of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard and witch coming through..."

Percy was deeply disapproving of this behavior, though.

"It is not a laughing matter" he said coldly.

"Oh, get out of the way, Percy" Fred said. "They're in a hurry"

"Yeah, they're off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with their fanged servant" George said, chortling.

Ginny didn't find it amusing either, and I don't blame them.

"Oh, don't" she wailed every time Fred asked us loudly who we were planning to attack next, or when George pretended to ward us off with a large clove of garlic when we met.

I didn't mind. It made me feel a little better that Fred and George, at least, thought the idea of us being Slytherin's heirs was quite ludicrous, or they were encouraging it, I can never tell which. But their antics seemed to be aggravating Draco Malfoy, who looked increasingly sour each time he saw them at it.

"It's because he's bursting to say it's really him" Ron said knowingly. "You know how he hates anyone beating him at anything, and you guys are getting all the credit for his dirty work"

"Not for long" Hermione said in a satisfied tone. "The Polyjuice Potion's nearly ready. We'll be getting the truth out of him any day now"

"You sure you don't want to change your mind about this?" Harry asked me. I knew what he meant.

"Nope. Not doing it. Not getting into more trouble than I already have" I repeated.

* * *

At long last, the term ended, and a silence deep as the snow on the grounds descended on the castle. I rather found it peaceful, instead of gloomy, and enjoyed the fact me, Harry, Hermione, and my adoptive family had the run of Gryffindor Tower, which meant that we can play Exploding Snap loudly without bothering anyone, maybe except the portraits, and practice dueling in private. Fred, George, and Ginny had chosen to stay at school rather than visit Bill in Egypt with Mum and Dad. Percy, who disapproved of what he termed 'our childish behavior', didn't spend much time in the common room. He had already told us pompously that he was only staying over Christmas because it was his 'duty' as a prefect to support the teachers during this troubled time.

Christmas morning dawned, cold and white. Me and Hermione left Myrtle's bathroom to wake up the boys. Very early it was, I might add. We went in their dorm, fully dressed and carrying presents for them both, two presents for each of us to give to them.

"Wake up" she said loudly, setting the presents down and pulling back the curtains at the window.

"Hermione - Elsa - you're not supposed to be in here -" Ron grunted, shielding his eyes against the light.

"Well, Merry Christmas to you, too" I said, throwing him his present. "You know that I always get up early"

"I've been up for nearly an hour, adding more lacewings to the potion. It's ready" Hermione said.

Harry sat straight up, suddenly wide awake.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive" Hermione said, shifting Scabbers so that she could sit down on the end of Ron's bed. "If we're going to do it, I say it should be tonight"

At that moment, Hedwig swooped into the room, carrying a very small package in her beak.

"Hello" Harry greeted happily as she landed on his bed. "Are you speaking to me again?"

She nibbled his ear in an affectionate sort of way, and Harry took the package.

"What is it?" I asked when he opened it.

"It's a note from the Dursleys" he answered.

"Let me see that" I sighed, taking the note from him. It was from them! They sent Harry a note on a toothpick telling him to find out whether he'd be able to stay at Hogwarts for the summer vacation, too! Ugh!

"I'll be back" I hissed, crumbling the note, and walking out. I'm going to give those people a piece of my mind!

* * *

No one, not even someone who was really _really_ ticked off earlier, could fail to enjoy Christmas dinner at Hogwarts.

The Great Hall looked magnificent. Not only were there a dozen frost-covered Christmas trees and thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscrossing the ceiling, but enchanted snow was falling, warm and dry, from the ceiling.

Dumbledore led us in a few of his favorite carols, Hagrid booming more and more loudly with every goblet of eggnog he consumed. Can someone give him a freaking _limit_ , please!? I have sensitive ears!

Percy, who hadn't noticed that Fred had bewitched his prefect badge, so now that it read 'Pinhead', kept asking us all what we were sniggering at.

I didn't even care that Malfoy was making loud, snide remarks about my, and Harry's, new sweaters from the Slytherin table. With a bit of luck to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Malfoy would be getting his comeuppance in a few hours.

Hermione ushered Harry and Ron out of the hall, when the boys were on their third helping of Christmas pudding.

"Okay, I'll just meet you in the bathroom, I guess" I shrugged to myself.

* * *

As I walked to the bathroom a while later, I saw Harry and Ron running in their socks in Slytherin robes that were too big for them. Instead of asking them about it, I just let them in the bathroom first. People will have a _cow_ if they saw two Gryffindors dressed like Slytherins in robes a couple sizes too big.

"Well, it wasn't a complete waste of time" Ron panted, as I closed the door behind me.

"No luck?" I asked.

"No, but I'm going to write to Dad tomorrow and tell him to check under the Malfoys' drawing room" Ron answered.

Harry looked in the mirror, and put his glasses back on as Ron knocked on the door of Hermione's stall.

"Hermione, come out, we've got loads to tell you-" Ron said.

"Go away!" Hermione squeaked.

Harry, Ron, and I looked at each other.

"Let me handle this, boys" I said. I pushed Harry and Ron away.

"Hermione?" I asked.

"Go away!"

"Come on, Hermione, what's the matter? If you took the potion at the same time they did, you should be back to normal by now, they are"

Myrtle glided through the stall door. I don't think I've ever seen her looking so happy.

"Ooooooh, wait til you see" she said. "It's awful-"

I heard the lock slide back and Hermione emerged, sobbing, and her robes pulled up over her head.

"What's up?" Ron asked uncertainly. "Have you still got Millicent's nose or something?"

I looked at Harry. "Harry?"

Harry nodded and punched Ron on the arm.

"Ow, mate" Ron pouted.

"Come on, Hermione. It can't be that bad" I assured.

Hermione let her robes fall and Ron backed into the sink.

Her face was covered in black fur. Her eyes had turned yellow and there were long, pointed ears poking through her hair.

"It was c-cat hair!" Hermione howled. "M-Millicent Bulstrode m-must have a cat! And the p-potion isn't supposed to be used for animal transformations!"

"I would say that it was cute, in a hybrid sort of way, but this is a-" I started.

"Uh-oh" Ron said.

"That moment" I finished.

"You'll be teased something dreadful" Myrtle said happily.

"Myrtle, stop it" I scolded.

"It's okay, Hermione" Harry said quickly. "We'll take you up to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey never asks too many questions..."

It took a long time to persuade Hermione to leave the bathroom, it helped that I was there with her.

* * *

 **Done. Bye my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	18. Riddle's dairy

**Hello. I think you should expect daily updates for this, except weekends, during the summer. Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

Hermione remained in the hospital wing for several weeks. There was a flurry of rumors about her disappearance when the rest of the school arrived back from their Christmas holidays, because _of course_ everyone thought she had been attacked. (I mean, _really_. She's my best friend, _and_ one of Harry's. If we were the Heirs of Slytherin, which we _aren't_ , why would we attack our own friends?) So many students filed past the hospital wing trying to catch a glimpse of her that Madam Pomfrey took out her curtains again and placed them around Hermione's bed, to spare her the shame of being seen with a furry face.

Harry, Ron, and I went to visit her every evening. When the new term started, we brought her each day's homework.

"If I'd sprouted whiskers, I'd take a day from work" Ron said, tipping a stack of books onto Hermione's bedside table.

"Don't be silly, Ron, I've got to keep up" Hermione said briskly. Her spirits were greatly improved by the fact that all the hair had gone from her face and her eyes were slowly turning back to brown. "I don't suppose you've got any new leads?" she asked in a whisper, so that Madam Pomfrey couldn't hear.

"Nothing" Harry said gloomily.

"I was so sure it was Malfoy" Ron said again, for about the hundredth time.

"Okay, we got it. You thought it was him. Moving on, please" I said.

"What's that?" Harry asked, pointing to something gold sticking out from under Hermione's pillow.

"Just a get well card" Hermione answered hastily, trying to poke it out of sight, but Ron was too quick for her. He pulled it out, flicked it open, and read aloud before I could smack him upside the head or punch him in the arm for that.

" _To Miss Granger, wishing you a speedy recovery, from your concerned teacher, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award._ "

Ron looked up at Hermione, disgusted.

"You sleep with this under your pillow?" he asked incredulously.

Hermione was spared answering by Madam Pomfrey sweeping over with her evening dose of medicine.

* * *

"Is Lockhart just the smarmiest bloke you've ever met, or what?" Ron asked me and Harry as we left the infirmary and started up the stairs toward Gryffindor Tower.

Snape had given us so much homework, that Harry complained that he was going to be in sixth year before he finished it. Ron was just asking me how many rat tails you were supposed to to a Hair Raising Potion when an angry outburst from the floor above reached our ears.

"That's Filch" Harry muttered as we hurried up the stairs and paused, out of sight, listening hard, not so hard for me.

"You don't think someone else's been attacked?" Ron asked tensely.

"Let's hope not" I sighed.

We stood still, our heads inclined toward Filch's voice, which sounded quite hysterical.

"-even more work for me! Mopping all night, like I haven't got enough to do! No, this is the final straw, I'm going to Dumbledore-"

His footsteps receded along the out-of-sight corridor and we heard a distant door slam.

We poked our heads around the corner. Filch had clearly been manning his usual lookout post. We were once again on the spot where Mrs. Norris had been attacked. They saw at a glance what Filch had been shouting about. A great flood of water stretched over half the corridor, and it looked as though it was still seeping from under the door of Myrtle's bathroom. Now that Filch had stopped shouting, I could hear Myrtle's wails echoing off the bathroom walls.

"Now what's up with her?" Ron groaned.

"Let's go and see" I said. Holding my robes over my ankles, I stepped through the great wash of water to the door bearing its _OUT OF ORDER_ sign. Ignoring it as always, I entered, along with my bros.

Myrtle was crying, if possible, harder and louder than ever before. She seemed to be hiding down in her usual toilet. It was dark in the bathroom because the candles had been extinguished in the great rush of water that had left both walls and floor soaking wet.

"What's up, Myrtle?" Harry asked.

"Who's that?" Myrtle glugged miserably. "Come to throw something else at me?"

"Why would we throw anything at you?" I asked after I waded across to her stall, because I'm more likable to her than the boys.

"Don't ask me" Myrtle pouted, emerging with a wave of yet more water, which splashed onto the already sopping floor. "Here I am, minding my own business, and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me..."

"But it can't hurt you if someone throws something at you" Harry said, reasonably. "I mean, it'd just go right through you, wouldn't it?"

He just said the wrong thing. I punched him in the arm.

"Ow" Harry pouted.

Myrtle puffed herself up and shrieked, "Let's all throw books at Myrtle, because she can't feel it! Ten points if you get it through her stomach! Fifty points if it goes through her head! Well, ha, ha, ha! What a lovely game, I don't think!"

"Who threw at you, anyway?" I asked, trying to calm her down.

"I don't know...I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death, and it fell right through the top of my head" Myrtle answered. "It's over there, it got washed out..."

I looked under the sink where Myrtle was pointing. A small, thin book lay there. It had a shabby black cover and was as wet as everything else in the bathroom. I have a very bad feeling about that book, and it looks familiar to me. I don't know why. Harry stepped forward to pick it up, but me and Ron suddenly flung out our arms to hold him back.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Are you crazy?" I exclaimed.

"It could be dangerous" Ron added.

"Dangerous?" Harry repeated, laughing. "Come off it, how could it be dangerous?"

"You'd be surprised" Ron said, looking apprehensively at the book. "Some of the books the Ministry's confiscated Dad's told us - there was one that burned your eyes out"

"And everyone who read Sonnets of a Sorcerer spoke in limericks for the rest of their lives" I continued.

"And some old witch in Bath had a book that you could never stop reading! You just had to wander around with your nose in it, trying to do everything one-handed"

"And-"

"All right, I've got the point" Harry interrupted. "Geez. You're like Fred and George when you do that"

The little book lay on the floor, nondescript and soggy.

"Well, we won't find out unless we look at it" Harry said, and he ducked around us, even though I still tried to hold him back, and picked it up off the floor.

Ron and I went over and looked over Harry's shoulder as he looked at the book. It turned out to be a dairy, and the faded year on the cover told us that it was fifty years old. Harry opened it eagerly. On the first page, I could just make out the name 'T M. Riddle' in smudged ink.

"Hang on" I said. "I think I know that name..."

"How?" Harry asked.

"Read it somewhere. Oh, yeah! He got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago" I answered.

Harry peeled the pages apart. They were completely blank. There wasn't the faintest trace of writing on any of them.

"He never wrote in it" Harry said, disappointed.

"Bummer" I mumbled sarcastically.

"I wonder why someone wanted to flush it away?" Ron asked curiously.

"Maybe because it's a very _bad_ book" I answered.

"And this is coming from the person who reads books all the time" Ron retorted.

I shrugged. Harry turned the book to the back cover of the book.

"He must've been Muggle-born" Harry said thoughtfully. "To have bought a dairy from Vauxhall Road..."

"Well, it's not much use to you, then" I said, trying to get Harry to rid of it.

Harry, however, pocketed it. Oh, boy. This is sure to end badly.

* * *

Hermione left the hospital wing, de-whiskered, tail-less, and furfree, at the beginning of February. On her first evening back in Gryffindor Tower, Harry showed her the dairy and told her how we found it.

"Oooh, it might have hidden powers" Hermione said enthusiastically, taking the dairy and looking at it closely.

"If it has, it's hiding them very well" Ron said.

"Maybe because it can kill people" I scoffed.

"Or, maybe it's shy. I don't know why you don't chuck it, Harry" Ron glared.

"I wish I knew why someone _did_ try to chuck it. I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts either" Harry said.

"Could've been anything" Ron shrugged. "Maybe he got thirty O.W.L.s or saved a teacher from the giant squid"

"Now that's over exaggerating things" I laughed.

Harry and Hermione had the same look on their faces, meaning that they're thinking the same thing.

"What?" I demanded looking from my brother to my best friend.

"Well, the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, wasn't it?" Harry asked. "That's what Malfoy said"

"Yeah..." Ron said slowly.

"And this dairy is fifty years old" Hermione added, tapping it excitedly.

"So?"

"Oh, Ron, wake up" Hermione snapped. "We know the person who opened the Chamber last time was expelled fifty years ago. We know T. M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago. Well, what if Riddle got his award for catching the Heir of Slytherin? His dairy would probably tell us everything - where the Chamber is, how to open it, and what sort of creature lives in it - the person who's behind the attacks this time wouldn't want that lying around, would they?"

"That's a brilliant idea, Hermione, with just one tiny little flaw there. There's nothing written in his dairy"

But Hermione was pulling her wand out of her bag.

"It might be invisible ink!" she whispered.

She tapped the dairy three times and cast her spell.

" _Aparecium!_ "

Nothing happened. Undaunted, Hermione shoved her hand back into her bag and pulled out what appeared to be a bright red eraser.

"It's a Revealer, I got it in Diagon Alley" she explained.

She rubbed hard on January first. Nothing happened, again.

"I'm telling you, there's nothing to find in there" I sighed, exasperated. "Riddle just got a dairy for Christmas and couldn't be bothered filling it in"

* * *

 **I'll stop there for this chapter. Read my new story and tell me what you think, please? That would be greatly appreciated. Bye my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	19. Valentines

**Hello. I'm sorry for not updating last week. I was out camping with my best friend at Raccoon Lake. It was fun, and it was funny. My mom thought beavers were raccoons! I'll make it up by trying to make double updates this week, but with my sleeping schedule out of wack, I don't know if I can, but I'll try. Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

I don't know why Harry just doesn't throw that thing away. It has bad news written all over it, even though it's blank. The fact that Harry kept picking it up and turning the pages, as though it was a story he wanted to finish, it just makes me want to get rid of it more.

But, Harry wanted to find out more about Riddle for some reason. At break the next day, he headed for the trophy room, accompanied by an interested Hermione, a thoroughly unconvinced Ron, and a grumpy me. I didn't want anything to do with this, and yet I'm still being dragged wherever they go.

Riddle's burnished gold shield was tucked away in a corner cabinet. It didn't carry details of why it had been given to him, which means more research. However, we did find Riddle's name on an old Medal for Magical Merit, and on a list of old Head Boys.

"He sounds like Percy" Ron said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Prefect, Head Boy...probably top of every class-"

"You say that like it's a bad thing" Hermione said in a slightly hurt voice.

"If Riddle was anything like Percy back then, he was a git" I said with my arms crossed.

* * *

The sun had now begun to shine weakly on Hogwarts again. Inside, the mood had grown more hopeful, which was good. There had been no more attacks since Justin and Nick, and Madam Pomfrey was pleased to report that the Mandrakes were becoming moody and secretive, meaning that they were fast leaving childhood, which, again, is good.

"The moment their acne clears up, they'll be ready for repotting again" I heard her telling Filch kindly. "And after that, it won't be long until we're cutting them up and stewing them. You'll have Mrs. Norris back in no time"

Perhaps the Heir of Slytherin had lost their nerve. It must be getting riskier and riskier to open the Chamber of Secrets, with the school so alert and suspicious. Perhaps the monster was even now settling itself down to hibernate for another fifty years...I hope so.

Ernie Macmillian didn't take this cheerful view. He was still convinced that Harry and I were the guilty ones, that we 'gave ourselves away' at the Dueling Club. Peeves wasn't helping matters either. He kept popping up in the crowded corridors and singing 'Oh, Potters, you rotters...', and now it has a dance routine to match. I was just about to give everyone a piece of my mind.

Lockhart seemed to think he himself had made the attacks stop. Please, when Hogwarts closes, which will never happen. I overheard him telling Professor McGonagall so while we were lining up for Transfiguration.

"I don't think there'll be any more trouble, Minerva" he said tapping his nose knowingly and winking. "I think the Chamber has been locked for good this time. The culprit must have known it was only a matter of time before I caught him. Rather sensible to stop now, before I came down hard on him"

"You know, what the school needs now is a morale-booster. Wash away the memories of last term! I won't say any more just now, but I think I know just the thing..."

He tapped his nose again and strode off. I don't want to see this 'morale-booster' that Lockhart thinks will cheer us up. I know for a fact that it won't cheer me up if it's Lockhart's idea.

* * *

The idea of the morale-booster became quite clear at breakfast on February fourteenth. **(AN: That _was_ supposed to be my birthday, but I was early. It would've been cool to have a birthday on Valentine's Day, wouldn't it?)** I hadn't had much sleep, even though I stay up late and wake up early every day, because of a late-running Quidditch practice the night before, and I hurried down to the Great Hall, slightly late. I thought, for a moment, that I'd walked through the wrong doors.

The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. I went over to the Gryffindor table, where Harry and Ron was sitting looking sickened, and Hermione seemed to have been overcome with giggles.

"O...kay. What's going on?" I asked, slightly disturbed, sitting down and wiping confetti off all my bacon. If it was edible, then I would keep it, but on a different food, because bacon is the best breakfast food ever invented. I could eat bacon any day, any hour!

Ron pointed to the teachers' table, apparently too disgusted to speak. I looked up there, and had to hide my barf. Lockhart, wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations, was waving for silence. The teachers on either side of him were looking stony-faced. From where I sat, I could see a muscle going in Professor McGonagall's cheek. Snape looked as though someone had just fed him a large beaker of Skele-Gro.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all - and it doesn't end here!"

Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps. I feel sorry for the dwarfs. They must think that this is stupid, or that they look stupid. I think both.

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" Lockhart beamed. They don't look friendly to me. "They will be moving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands. Snape was looking as though the first person to ask him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison. I think I'll ask just for the sake of it, just to be annoying.

* * *

"Please, Hermione, tell me you weren't one of the forty-six" Ron pleaded as we left the Great Hall for the first lesson. Hermione suddenly became very interested in searching her bag and didn't answer.

"I think that means yes, Ron" I answered instead.

"Hey, why were you late this morning?" Harry asked.

"Late Quidditch practice. Even though I stay up late anyway, it was going after when I usually go to sleep" I answered.

"Which is?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"...About...2 in the morning, I think" I thought.

"And you _still_ wake up before everyone else? How you can do that is beyond me, Elsa" Hermione joined in.

* * *

All day long, the dwarfs kept barging into our classes to deliver valentines, to the annoyance of the teachers. I actually thought it was sort of funny. Even I got a couple valentines from people. I didn't think people even _liked_ me. Late in the afternoon as we were walking upstairs for Charms, one of the dwarfs caught up with Harry.

"Oy, you! Arry Potter!" a particularly grim-looking dwarf shouted, elbowing people out of the way to get to Harry.

Harry tried to escape. I would too if I had to be given a valentine in front of a line of first years, which including my little sister. The dwarf, however, cut his way through the crowd by kicking people's shins, and reached Harry before he'd gone two paces.

"I've got a musical message to deliver to Arry Potter in person" he said, twanging his harp in a threatening sort of way. Yeah, I _definitely_ would've run away. Maybe I would've jumped to the ceiling, and flown away.

"Not here" Harry hissed, trying to escape.

"Stay still!" the dwarf grunted, grabbing hold of Harry's bag and pulling him back.

"Let me go!" Harry snarled, tugging his bag back. Okay, this is kind of funny to watch.

With a loud ripping noise, his bag split in two. His books, wand, parchment, and quill spilled onto the floor and his ink bottle smashed over everything.

Harry scrambled around, trying to pick it all up before the dwarf started singing, causing something of a hold up in the corridor.

"What's going on here?" and here came the cold, drawling voice of Malfoy. Harry started stuffing everything feverishly into his ripped bag, desperate to get away before Malfoy could hear his musical valentine. Okay, this isn't funny anymore.

"What's all this commotion?" Percy asked. Yay, the git arrived.

Harry tried to make a run for it, but the dwarf seized him around the knees and brought him crashing to the floor. Okay, back to being funny.

"Right" he said, sitting on Harry's ankles. "Here is your singing valentine.

 _His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,_

 _His hair is as dark as a blackboard,_

 _I wish he was mine,_

 _He's really divine,_

 _The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."_

What am I? Chopped liver? I helped with that! I'm betting Harry wants to just disappear right now. I would want the same thing if that was me. Trying valiantly to laugh along with everyone else, beside me, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, he got up, as Percy(*cough* git *cough*) did his best to disperse the crowd, some of whom were crying with mirth.

"Off you go, off you go, the bell de five minutes ago, off to class, now" Percy said, shooing some of the younger students away. "And you, Malfoy-"

I glanced over. I saw Malfoy stoop and snatch up something. Leering, he showed it to Crabbe and Goyle, and I realized it was the dairy. Why wasn't it soaked in Harry's ink?

"Give that back" Harry said quietly.

"Wonder what Potter's written in this?" Malfoy taunted, who obviously hadn't noticed the year on the cover and thought he had Harry's own dairy. Git. Why would Harry take it with him if he even _had_ one? Some people lack common sense. A hush fell over the onlookers. Ginny was staring from the dairy to Harry, looking terrified. What, why?

"Hand it over, Malfoy" Percy said sternly. Finally, on our side for once!

"When I've had a look" Malfoy said, waving the dairy tauntingly at Harry.

"As a school prefect -" Percy started, but Harry had lost his temper, it looks like. He pulled out his wand.

" _Expelliarmus!_ " he shouted. Just as Snape had disarmed Lockhart, Malfoy found the dairy shooting out of his hand into the air. Ron, grinning broadly, caught it.

"Harry!" Percy said loudly. "No magic in the corridors. I'll have to report this, you know!"

I don't think that he cares. I wouldn't. We have one-up on Malfoy, and that was worth five points from Gryffindor any day. Plus, it's only five points, we can earn them back anyway. Malfoy was looking furious. Good!

"I don't think Potter liked your valentine much!" Malfoy yelled spitefully after her as she passed him on her way to enter her classroom. If it was from her, how did _he_ know? It might be from someone else.

Ginny covered her face with her hands and ran into class. Okay, I guess that was from her. Snarling, Ron pulled out his wand, too, but me and Harry pulled him away. We don't need another accident, or for Ron to spend the whole of Charms belching slugs.

Harry tried to show Ron the clean dairy during Charms, but Ron was having trouble with his wand again. Large purple bubbles(*gasp!* BUBBLES!) were blossoming out of the end, and he wasn't much interested in anything else.

* * *

 **I'll stop it there, and finish it next chapter. Wow. I think this chapter in the book will be the longest in here. The chapter I'm on, I made three already here, and I'm not done yet. Bye my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	20. Figuring it out

**Hello. I want to finish this chapter in this chapter, if you get what I mean. Let's finish it up, shall we? Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

Harry went to bed early. Partly because he couldn't stand Fred and George singing his valentine over and over again. But, I knew that he was examining the dairy again. He's just wasting his time.

"If you two don't _shut up_ right now, I'll turn the both of you into fresh pickled toads" I threatened them. I can't stand it either. Maybe I should've went to bed early too, but to leave everyone else here to suffer? No, I'm ending this. They shut up. Thank you!

* * *

 **AN: Here's the next chapter in the book. Guess I wasn't that far behind.**

* * *

I'd always known that Hagrid had a liking for large and monstrous-like creatures, though they're not a big deal for me. During our first year, they(meaning Harry, Ron, and Hermione) told me that he tried to raise a dragon in his _wooden_ house, and it would be a long time before I forgot Fluffy, the three-headed dog. And if, as a boy, Hagrid had heard that a monster was hidden somewhere in the castle, maybe he would look for it. Maybe he'd think it was a shame that the monster had been cooped up so long, and thought it deserved the chance to stretch its many legs. Wait, no. Stop thinking like this! This is _Hagrid_ we're talking about. He may be a nice person to all creatures, big and small, but he wouldn't let anything loose that would be potentially dangerous and could kill anyone.

I wish that Harry hadn't figured out how that dairy worked. Ron and Hermione made him recount what he'd seen, again and again, until he was sick of telling them and sick of the long, circular conversations that followed. Every time I hear it, it seems more and more far-fetched.

"Riddle might have got the wrong person" Hermione said. "Maybe it was some other monster that was attacking people..."

"It just seems too far-fetched to me. I believe that Hagrid wouldn't do that" I added.

"How many monsters d'you think this place can hold?" Ron asked dully.

"There's Fluffy, the pet Hagrid had when he went to school here, and the monster attacking people now, and there might be more later" I listed.

"Smart mouth" Ron grumbled.

"Thank you!" I smiled. I take insults as compliments sometimes.

"We always knew Hagrid had been expelled" Harry said miserably. "And the attacks must've stopped after Hagrid was kicked out. Otherwise, Riddle wouldn't have got his award"

"Riddle does sound like Percy - who asked him to squeal on Hagrid, anyway?" Ron asked.

"But the monster had _killed_ someone, Ron" Hermione argued.

"Maybe it was _Riddle_ who did it. I simply _refuse_ to believe Hagrid killed and Petrified people. Hagrid's a nice person, he would never set a monster loose that potentially kills people" I said.

"Well, the attacks stopped after he got kicked out" Harry argued.

"You met Hagrid down Knockturn Alley, didn't you, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"He was buying Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent" Harry answered quickly.

Then, we fell silent.

"Do you think we should go and ask Hagrid about it all?" Hermione asked, voicing the question of all of us in a hesitant voice.

"That'd be a _cheerful_ visit. Hello Hagrid. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately? Yeah, that'd be a _wonderful_ conversation starter" I said.

In the end, we decided that we wouldn't say anything to Hagrid unless there was another attack.

* * *

As more and more days went by with no whisper from the disembodied voice, I became hopeful that we would never talk to him about why he had been expelled.

It was now nearly four months since Justin and Nick had been Petrified, and nearly everybody seemed to think that the attacker, whoever it was, had retired for good. Peeves finally got bored of his 'Oh, Potters, you rotters' song, Ernie asked Harry quite politely to pass a bucket of leaping toadstools in Herbology one day, and in March, several of the Mandrakes threw a loud and raucous party in greenhouse three. This made Professor Sprout very happy. What makes me happy is that everything is turning to normal.

"The moment they start trying to move into each other's pots, we'll know they're fully mature" she told me and Harry. "Then we'll be able to revive those poor people in the hospital wing"

"I just realized! They might be able to tell us who the attacker is who Petrified them!" I exclaimed as we were going to the common room.

"They could. The attacks can finally be over if they do" Harry agreed. I really hope they can tell us.

All the second years were given something new to think about during the Easter holidays. The time had come to choose our subjects for our third year, a matter that me and Hermione, at least, took very seriously.

"It could affect our whole future" I told Harry and Ron as we pored over the lists of new subjects, and marking the ones we want in checks. I'm definitely doing Care of Magical Creatures!

"I just want to give up Potions" Harry said.

"We can't" Ron said gloomily. "We keep all our old subjects, or I'd've ditched Defense Against the Dark Arts"

"But that's very important!" Hermione said, shocked.

"Not the way Lockhart teaches it" Ron said. "I haven't learned anything from him except to _not_ set pixies loose"

I shivered. I don't want a repeat of _that_ fiasco.

"Actually, Harry, if you just ignore Snape's rude comments, then you can actually learn a lot more stuff. I don't think it's that bad" I shrugged.

Neville had been sent letters from all the witches and wizards in his family, all giving him different advice on what to choose. He sat reading the subject lists with his tongue poking out, asking people whether they thought Arithmancy sounded more difficult than the study of Ancient Runes.

"Neville, though that is a good way of learning, you have to follow your heart, and what you want to do in the future" I advised.

Neville was silent as he took in my advice.

Dean Thomas, who, like Harry, had grown up with Muggles, ended up closing his eyes and jabbing his wand at the list, then picking the subjects it landed on. I think that's a bad way of picking.

"What if you don't like those subjects?" I asked.

"Then, I guess I'll force myself through it" he shrugged.

Hermione took nobody's advice and signed up for everything.

"Geez, Hermione, how are you going to do all that?" I asked.

"I think I'll have a meeting with Professor McGonagall about ththat, but I think I can get through it" she answered.

"I have a piece of advice for you. Play to your strengths" I advised my bros, who still couldn't figure out what subjects to take.

Our next match would be against Hufflepuff. Wood was insisting on team practices every night after dinner, so I barely had time for anything but Quidditch and homework. However, the training sessions were getting better, or at least drier, and the evening before Saturday's match I went up to my dormitory to drop off my broomstick, feeling Gryffindor's chances for the Quidditch cup had never been better.

As I came inside, I saw Harry and Ron rush down the stairs towards Hermione, who sat alone, reading a book called _Ancient Runes Made Easy_. I think I might borrow that sometime. I chose that too.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Someone broke into our dorm and ransacked the place. Riddle's dairy is missing, too" Ron explained.

My mouth was agape, while Hermione looked aghast.

"But - only a Gryffindor could have stolen - nobody else knows our password-" Hermione stammered.

"Exactly" Harry said.

"Unless it wasn't a student" I added.

* * *

I woke to brilliant sunshine and a light, refreshing breeze. I suddenly gasped, as if I just realized something, which I totally did.

"Hermione! Hermione, wake up!" I whisper-yelled.

"Five more minutes" she groaned.

"I think I know what the monster is" I said.

Hermione's eyes shot open and sat up.

"I'm up! What is it?" Hermione asked. She's still tired.

"I mean, I have a pretty good idea, but I need the library to be sure. I think it might be a Basilisk" I rubbed the back of my neck.

"We need the library" Hermione agreed, slapping a hand to her forehead.

"Go now?" I asked.

"Sure, but what about the Quidditch match?" Hermione wondered.

"Don't worry. Got that covered" I smiled. Me and Hermione walked down the stairs into the common room. As we past the tables, I took a piece of random parchment and a quill and ink to write my message to Wood.

 _Hey Wood,_

 _I might be late. I just realized something really important and I had to do something with it before I forgot it. Get the sub to fill in for me, would you? Thanks!_

 _Sincerely,  
_ _Autumn Potter_

 _See you! Good luck, even though I don't think you need it!_

I looked over my note again, proofreading it, before nodding to myself.

"Who's the sub?" Hermione asked. I nearly jumped. I didn't know she was reading over my shoulder.

"You'll see. He'll be amazing" I smiled. No one but the team knows who he is, not even he himself knows, until Wood tells him, that is.

"Come on. Let's go" Hermione said. When we got to the portrait hole, I stuck the note on the backside, so that someone can get it and give it to Wood.

We rushed over to the library and I ran right over to the book I thought had the answers we need. When I found correct page, I went towards Hermione, who was helping me look.

" _Kill this time...let me rip...tear..._ "

It was that voice again. I thought I had enough of that, but I guess not. Well, now I know why only me and Harry can hear it.

"Hermione! I found it!" I exclaimed, setting the book down on the nearest table and sitting down. Hermione sat down next to me.

" _Spiders flee before the Basilisk_ " Hermione read.

"There were spiders at every attack" I added.

" _The Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death_. If everyone saw and stared at the Basilisk, then how come no one is dead?" Hermione wondered.

"...They...weren't directly looking at it" I said.

"They were looking at its reflection!" Hermione added.

"Colin had the camera. Nick is already dead, so he can't die again. Justin saw it _through_ Nick" I listed.

"Mrs. Norris...looked at it in the big puddle of water" Hermione finished.

"Yeah, but how did she get up there on that torch though? I doubt cats can jump while being Petrified" I pondered.

"I don't know. It's...using the pipes as a way to get around. You know, because all the people were found at different places" Hermione added, writing it on the page.

"Well, now we know why me and Harry were the only ones that could hear it. It's a snake" I smiled.

"Yep" she smiled, tearing the page out.

"I can give it to the boys. I have to try to make it to the Quidditch game, anyway" I offered.

"Sure, go ahead. Here, take this, just in case" Hermione said. She handed me the paper, which she crumpled up, and a gold hand mirror.

"...I'm not even going to ask why you have a mirror with you" I shook my head. I fast walked away, towards the exit.

As I rounded corners, I looked through the mirror first, while having the paper tightly in my hand. I was at the home stretch, and I had one last corner before going to the entrance hall. As I looked through the mirror, I saw a pair of sickly yellow eyes. My body shut down, and all I could see now...was darkness.

* * *

 **I guess I'll stop it there. Want me to do Harry or Ron's P.O.V in the next chapters until the end where they all wake up from being Petrified? I need to know by tomorrow, peoples! Bye, my little wizard turtles. Review? And tell me please on P.O.V!**


	21. Triple attack

**Sup, peoples! So, who's up chapter 21? 21! Yeah, these books from the books are going to be longer than the movie one, which I might edit into the book later. It might be after I finish with all seven books. I'll do Harry's P.O.V for the first part, maybe it'll be the whole chapter. I don't know. I'm not that far yet. First part will be a filler for the last. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Harry's P.O.V

"Harry! Wake up!" someone yelled.

"Five more minutes" I groaned.

"You have to play" they argued.

"What d'you mean?" I asked, waking up and sitting up. I'm still tired though. I saw Oliver Wood, the Quidditch Captain, in front of me.

"Your sister is doing something important, and will be late. You're the second choice" Wood explained.

"Me? But I've never played Quidditch" I argued.

"You've watched us before. Ron explained the rules and stuff, hasn't he?" he asked.

"Yeah" I answered.

"Great! Come on, then!" Wood urged.

"Fine" I reluctantly agreed. I hurried and put on my clothes for today and followed Wood out the door. Ron was waiting in the common room.

"Are you really the Seeker for today?" Ron asked, excited as we exited the room and down to the Great Hall.

"How did you-?"

"I was here when they found the note on the door" he explained.

"Oh"

"So, are you?" he repeated.

"Apparently. I still don't get why though" I shrugged.

"She argued with me to have you as a backup Seeker if we ever needed. She thought you were a good choice. Let's hope you were" Wood explained.

"When did this happen?" I asked.

"...Somewhere in the beginning of term" Wood thought.

"And how come I wasn't informed?"

"We didn't think we needed a backup. Looks like we do now, and you're the choice we made" Wood defended.

"I don't even have a broom" I argued. Hopefully, this will make him 'unchoose' me, if that's a word.

"We can make Autumn's broom fly for you. There's a spell that can make regular brooms fly like our brooms. You don't have to worry. Autumn's thought of everything" Wood smiled.

" _Kill this time...let me rip...tear..._ "

"The voice!" I whisper-yelled to Ron, looking over my shoulder. "I just heard it again - didn't you?"

Ron shook his head, wide-eyed. I still looked around, trying to tell where the voice had come from.

I stood, irresolute, trying to catch the voice again, but people were now emerging from the Great Hall behind us, talking loudly, exiting through the front doors on their way to the Quidditch pitch.

"You'd better get moving" Ron advised. "It's nearly eleven - the match-"

I raced to join the large crowd swarming across the grounds, but my mind was still in the castle along with the bodiless voice. As I pulled on the scarlet robes I would be using today in the locker room, my only comfort was that everyone was now outside to watch the game, well, it makes me scared to think about Hermione and my sister in there. I wonder what they're doing, but I really hope they're safe.

"You'll be fine, Harry" I kept hearing encouragement from the other players. I hope they're right, and I'll be fine.

We walked onto the field to tumultuous applause. Wood took off for a warm-up flight around the goal posts. I suppose I should too, I should get used to flying before the game. I took off and followed Wood around the posts. Madam Hooch released the balls. The Hufflepuffs, who were in canary yellow, were standing in a huddle, having a last-minute discussion of tactics.

"You're doing great, Harry" Wood commented.

"I guess I'm getting the hang of this" I smiled. Professor McGonagall came half marching, half running across the pitch, carrying an enormous purple megaphone.

My heart dropped. Did something happen? Was there another attack?

"This match has been cancelled" Professor McGonagall called through the megaphone, addressing the packed stadium. There were boos and shouts of protests. Wood, looking devastated, landed and ran toward Professor McGonagall without getting off his broomstick. That takes some serious skills. Skills that I don't have.

"But, Professor!" he shouted. "We've got to play - the cup - Gryffindor-"

Professor McGonagall ignored him and continued to shout through her megaphone.

"All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!"

Then she lowered the megaphone and beckoned me over to her.

"Potter, you'd better come with me..."

Wondering how she could possibly suspect me this time, I saw Ron detach himself from the complaining crowd. He came running up to us as we set off toward the castle. To my surprise, Professor McGonagall didn't object.

"Yes, you'd better come too, Weasley. Actually, this concerns all of you. Would you mind getting your brothers and Ginny and meet us at the hospital wing?"

Ron looked confused, but nodded and ran off into the crowd. I would be concerned too if it concerned my whole family, which aren't here. Some of the students swarming around us were grumbling about the match being cancelled. Others looked worried. I followed Professor McGonagall back into the school and up the marble staircase. I wonder what's wrong.

We walked up to the hospital wing, and all the Weasleys came running to meet us here. They looked confused and worried. I'm confused too. What's happening?

"This will be a bit of a shock" Professor McGonagall said in a surprisingly gentle voice as we approached the doors. "There's has been another attack...another triple attack"

My insides did a horrible somersault. A _triple_ attack!? Professor McGonagall pushed the door open and we all entered. Madam Pomfrey was bending over a fifth-year girl with long, curly hair. I recognized her as the Ravenclaw me and Ron had accidentally asked for directions to the Slytherin common room. And on the bed next to her was-

"Hermione!" Ron groaned.

She lay utterly still, her eyes open and glassy. If I didn't know better, I would've thought she was dead, but I know better. I know she's only Petrified.

"These two were found near the library" Professor McGonagall explained. "I don't suppose you can explain this? It was on the floor next to them, and another was by the last..."

She was holding up two small, circular mirrors. One was silver, and the other was gold.

Me and Ron shook our heads, staring at Hermione.

"The last attack is why I asked for all of you" Professor McGonagall said, looking at all the Weasleys. She lead us to the bed next to Hermione's, which was-

"Elsa!/Sis!" We all exclaimed.

"She was found by the Great Hall with the gold mirror" Professor McGonagall explained.

"She must've been on her way to the game to play, or to watch how I would've done" I guessed.

"You would've done great, mate" Ron said.

"Wish she would've seen it" I said sadly.

"I will escort you all back to Gryffindor Tower" Professor McGonagall said heavily. "I need to address the students in any case"

* * *

"All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities"

All the Gryffindors packed inside the common room listened to Professor McGonagall in silence. She rolled up the parchment from which she was reading and said in a somewhat choked voice, "I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward"

She climbed somewhat awkwardly out of the portrait hole, and the other Gryffindors began talking immediately.

"That's three Gryffindors down, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff" Lee Jordan listed, counting on his fingers. "Haven't any of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it obvious all this stuff's coming from Slytherin? The Heir of Slytherin, the monster of Slytherin - why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?" he roared, to nods and scattered applause.

Percy was sitting in a chair behind Lee, but for once he didn't seem keen to make his views heard. He was looking pale and stunned.

"Percy's in shock" George told me quietly. "That Ravenclaw girl - Penelope Clearwater - she's a prefect. I don't think he thought the monster would dare attack a prefect"

I was only half-listening. I wasn't able to get rid of the picture of my sister and Hermione, lying on the hospital beds as though carved out of stone or dead. If the culprit wasn't caught soon, I was looking at a lifetime back with the Dursleys. Tom Riddle had turned Hagrid in because he was faced with the prospect of a Muggle orphanage if the school closed. I knew exactly what that felt like now. I already deal with them enough during the summer.

"What're we going to do?" Ron asked quietly in my ear. It almost made me jump. "D'you think they suspect Hagrid?"

"We've got to go and talk to him" I said, making up my mind. "I can't believe it's him this time, but if he set the monster loose last time he'll know how to get inside the Chamber of Secrets, and that's a start"

"But McGonagall said we've got to stay in our tower unless we're in class-" he argued.

"I think" I thought, more quietly still, "It's to get my dad's old cloak out again"

I only inherited one thing from my dad, a long and silvery Invisibility Cloak. It was our only chance of sneaking out of the school to visit Hagrid without anyone knowing about it. We went to bed at the usual time, but stayed up and waited until Neville, Dean, and Seamus had stopped discussing the Chamber of Secrets and finally fallen asleep, then got up again, dressed, and threw the cloak over ourselves.

The journey through the dark and deserted castle corridors wasn't enjoyable. I, who had wandered the castle at night several times before, had never seen it so crowded after sunset. Teachers, prefects, and ghosts were marching the corridors in pairs, staring around for any unusual activity. The Invisibility Cloak didn't stop us making any noise, and there was a particularly tense moment when Ron stubbed his toe only yards from the spot where Snape stood standing guard. Thankfully, Snape sneezed almost exactly the moment Ron swore. It was in relief that we reached the oak front doors and eased them open.

It was a clear, starry night tonight. It was beautiful. We hurried toward the lit windows of Hagrid's house and pulled off the cloak only when we were right outside the front door.

Seconds after I had knocked, Hagrid flung it open. I found myself face-to-face with him aiming a crossbow at us. Fang was barking loudly behind him.

"Oh" he said, lowering the weapon and staring at us. "What're you two doin' here?"

"What's that for?" I asked, pointing at the crossbow as me and Ron stepped inside.

"Nothin'- nothin'-" Hagrid muttered. "I've bin expectin'- doesn' matter - Sit down - I'll make tea-"

I don't think he seemed to know what he was doing. He nearly extinguished the fire, spilling water from the kettle on it, and then smashed the teapot with a nervous jerk of his massive hand.

"Are you okay, Hagrid? Did you hear about Elsa and Hermione?" I asked, holding my voice steady from choking and breaking.

"Oh, I heard, all righ'" Hagrid answered, a slight break in his voice.

He kept glancing nervously at the windows. He poured us both large mugs of boiling water, he forgot to add tea bags, and was just putting a slab of fruitcake on a plate when there was a loud knock on the door.

Hagrid dropped the fruitcake. Me and Ron exchanged panicstricken looks, then threw the Invisibility Cloak back over us and retreated into a corner. Hagrid checked that we were hidden, seized his crossbow, and flung open his door again.

"Good evening, Hagrid"

It was Dumbledore. He entered, looking deadly serious, and was followed by a second, very odd-looking man.

He had rumpled gray hair and an anxious expression. He wore a strange mixture of clothes. A pinstriped suit, a scarlet tie, a long black cloak, and pointed purple boots. Under his arm, he carried a lime-green bowler hat.

"That's Dad's boss! Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic!" Ron breathed. Why's he here then?

I elbowed Ron hard to make him shut up.

Hagrid had gone pale and sweaty. He dropped into one of his chairs and looked from Dumbledore to Fudge.

* * *

 **I'll stop there. There's not much left of this chapter. I think I'll continue, changing from Harry to Ron P. . You guys should really watch the Harry Potter theories on Youtube from SuperCarlinBrothers. It really makes you think about them. A couple is...Is Draco a werewolf?...Who is Crookshanks true owner?...Did Dumbledore make a horcrux?...Slughorn's darkest secret...Newt's patronus. That's only a few awesome ones, but they really made me think. Bye, my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	22. No Dumbledore

**Hello. I love watching Harry Potter theories. I'm listening to Fight Song by Rachel Platten while writing this. I love it so much! I needed to listen to this last week when me and my boyfriend broke up again. The first time was short and during the last week of school. He was being stupid, and he _knew_ he was. I'm sure you don't want to hear me rant about this. So, enjoy!**

* * *

Ron's P.O.V

"Bad business, Hagrid" Fudge said in rather clipped tones. Why is he here? Is the Ministry acting on this? "Very bad business. Had to come. Four attacks on Muggle-borns, and one on a Half-Blood. **(Percy Jackson!)** Things've gone far enough. Ministry's got to act". Huh, guess I was right. But, what is he doing here if he's acting? Not about Hagrid, is it?

"I never" Hagrid defended, looking imploringly at Dumbledore. "You know I never, Professor Dumbledore, sir-"

"I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence" Dumbledore said, frowning at the Minister.

"Look, Albus" Fudge said, uncomfortably. "Hagrid's record's against him. Ministry's got to do something - the school governors have been in touch-"

"Yet again, Cornelius, I tell you that taking Hagrid away will not help in the slightest" Dumbledore argued. His blue eyes were full of a fire that I never saw before. I didn't even know it was there. Take him away? It really wouldn't help, but where would they take him? Then I thought of the one place they would. Not Azkaban!mop That place is horrible, and cruel, to say the least!

"Look at it from my point of view" Fudge said, fidgeting with his bowler. "I'm under a lot of pressure. Got to be seen to be doing something. If it turns out it wasn't Hagrid, he'll be back and no more said. But I've got to take him. Got to. Wouldn't be doing my duty-"

"Take me? Take me where?" Hagrid asked, who was trembling. Poor guy. I want to go out and comfort him, but I know I can't. That would be blowing our cover, and a lot of bad things would happen.

"For a short stretch only" Fudge assured, not meeting Hagrid's eyes. "Not a punishment, Hagrid, more a precaution. If someone else is caught, you'll be let out with a full apology-"

"Not Azkaban?" Hagrid croaked.

Before the Minister could answer, there was another loud rap on the door. Who could it be now?

Dumbledore answered the door. This time, I elbowed Harry in the ribs. He'd let out an audible gasp.

Mr. Malfoy strode into Hagrid's hut, swathed in a long black traveling cloak, smiling a cold and satisfied smile. What the bloody hell does he want now? Fang started to growl. I'm right there with you, Fang.

"Already here, Fudge" he said approvingly. "Good, good..."

"What're you doin' here? Get outta my house!" Hagrid said furiously.

"My dear man, please believe me, I have no pleasure at all in being inside your - er - d'you call this a house?" Malfoy sneered, looking around the small cabin. "I simply called at the school and was that the headmaster was here"

"And what exactly did you want with me, Lucius?" Dumbledore asked. He spoke politely, but the fire was still blazing in his blue eyes.

"Dreadful thing, Dumbledore" Malfoy said lazily, taking out a long roll of parchment, "but the governors feel it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension - you'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you're losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Three more this afternoon, wasn't it? At this rate, there'll be no Muggle-borns left at Hogwarts, and we all know what an awful loss that would be to the school"

"Oh, now, see here, Lucius. Dumbledore suspended - no, no - last thing we want just now" Fudge argued, looking alarmed. With Dumbledore gone, there'll be an attack a day, and killings!

"The appointment - or suspension - of the headmaster is a matter for the governors, Fudge" Malfoy said smoothly. "And as Dumbledore has failed to stop these attacks-"

"See here, Malfoy, if Dumbledore can't stop them" Fudge said, whose upper lip was sweating now. What? How does that happen? "I mean to say, who can?"

"That remains to be seen" Malfoy said with a nasty smile. "But as all twelve of us have voted-"

Hagrid leapt to his feet, his shaggy black head grazing the ceiling. Ever thought of adding a few feet to the height of the hut?

"An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?" he roared.

"Dear, dear, you know, that temper of yours will lead you into trouble one of these days, Hagrid" Malfoy said. "I would advise you not to shout at the Azkaban guards like that. They won't like it at all"

"Yeh can' take Dumbledore!" Hagrid yelled, making Fang cower and whimper in his basket. "Take him away, an' the Muggle-borns won' stand a chance! There'll be killin' next!"

"Calm yourself, Hagrid" Dumbledore said sharply. He looked at Mr. Malfoy.

"If the governors want my removal, Lucius, I shall of course step aside-"

"But -" Fudge stuttered.

"No!" Hagrid growled.

Dumbledore had not taken his bright blue eyes off Malfoy's cold gray ones.

"However" Dumbledore continued, speaking very slowly and clearly so that none of us could miss a word, "you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me... Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it"

For a second, I was almost sure Dumbledore's eyes flickered toward the corner where me and Harry were hidden.

"Admirable sentiments" Malfoy said, bowing. "We shall all miss your - er - highly individual way of running things, Albus, and only hope your successor will manage to prevent any - ah - killins"

He strode to the cabin door, opened it, and bowed Dumbledore out. Fudge, fiddling with his bowler, waited for Hagrid to go ahead of him, but Hagrid stood his ground, took a deep breath, and said carefully, "If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff, all they'd have ter do would be ter follow the spiders. That'd lead them right. That's all I'm sayin'"

Fudge stared at him in amazement, but not me. I stared in horror. Why spiders? Why did it _have_ to be spiders? Why couldn't it be butterflies? Or, at least something less terrifying!

"All righ', I'm comin'" Hagrid said, pulling on his moleskin overcoat. But as he was about to follow Fudge through the door, he stopped again and said loudly, "An' someone'll need ter feed Fang while I'm away"

The door banged shut and I pulled off the Invisibility Cloak.

"We're in trouble now" I said hoarsely. "No Dumbledore. They might as well close the scschool tonight. There'll be an attack a day with him gone"

Then, Fang started howling, scratching at the closed door.

* * *

 **Sorry this one is short. Barely made it at 11:07pm. This is the rest of that chapter. I'll start the next tomorrow. Bye my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	23. Spiders

**Sup? For those who didn't know, the poll I had awhile ago had four choices where this book went. Autumn being Petrified with Hermione was one. If you want the others, PM or ask in review. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ron's P.O.V

Summer was creeping over the grounds around the castle. I can't believe that Hermione, my adopted sister, and everyone else hasn't woken up yet. The sky and lake alike turned periwinkle blue and flowers large as cabbages burst into bloom in the greenhouses. I'm sure that Elsa would've found this all pretty. But with no Hagrid visible from the castle windows, striding the grounds with Fang at his heels, it didn't look right to me. No better than the inside, where things were so horribly wrong.

Me and Harry tried to visit our sister and Hermione, but visitors were now barred from the hospital wing.

"We're taking no more chances" Madam Pomfrey told us severely through a crack in the door. "No, I'm sorry, there's every chance the attacker might come back to finish these people..."

If the attacker does come back, we can put him away and get Hagrid back, and attacks no longer happen. Plus, how can the attacker finish them off if they're Petrified? That makes no sense to me, but I let it slide.

With Dumbledore gone, fear had spread as never before, so that the sun warming the castle walls outside seemed to stop at the mullioned windows. There was barely a face to be seen in the school that didn't look worried and tense, and any laughter that rang through the corridors sounded shrill and unnatural and was quickly stifled.

I kept thinking about that night, and what Dumbledore said "I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me...Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it" But what good were those words? Who exactly were we supposed to ask for help, when everyone was just as confused and scared as we were?

I got what Hagrid meant after he said it, it was easier to understand. But still. Why _spiders_? Well, if that's the way that we can end the attacks, I can _try_ to suck it up for a while. There wasn't a single spider left in the castle to follow. I helped Harry, still reluctantly, looking for one. We were hampered, of course, by the fact that we weren't allowed to wander off on our own, but had to move around the castle in a pack with the other Gryffindors in our House. Do we look like sheep or fish to you? Most of the students seemed glad that they were being shepherded from class to class to teachers, but I found it very irksome. I could tell Harry did too.

One person, however, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere of terror and suspicion. Malfoy, who I would still be thinking was the Heir, was strutting around school as though he had just been appointed Head Boy. I knew what he was so pleased about because he told me and Harry, in Polyjuice form of Crabbe and Goyle, that he thought Dumbledore was the worst headmaster and the worst thing to happen to school. He just didn't like Hagrid.

We heard him gloating to Crabbe and Goyle in Potions, two weeks after they both left.

"I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore" he said, not even troubling to keep his voice down. "I told you he thinks Dumbledore's the worst headmaster the school's ever had. Maybe we'll get a decent headmaster now. Someone who won't want the Chamber of Secrets closed. McGonagall won't last long, she's only filling in..."

Snape swept past us, making no comment about Hermione's empty seat and cauldron.

"Sir" Malfoy said loudly. "Sir, why don't you apply for the headmaster's job?"

Snape? As headmaster? Just kill me now then, so I don't have to endure that!

"Now, now, Malfoy" Snape said, though he couldn't suppress a thin-lipped smile. "Professor Dumbledore has only been suspended by the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon enough"

"Yeah, right" Malfoy smirked. "I expect you'd have Father's vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job - I'll tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir-"

I can just imagine what Elsa would say if she heard that. 'He's a spoiled brat and a suck up' or something along those lines. It makes me laugh just thinking about it, mentally laughing, of course.

Snape smirked as he swept off around the dungeon, fortunately not seeing Seamus, who was pretending to vomit into his cauldron.

"I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods haven't all packed their bags by now" Malfoy went on. "Bet you five Galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger-"

The bell rang at that moment, which was lucky. At Malfoy's last words, I had leapt off my stool, and in the scramble to collect bags and books, my attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.

"Let me at him" I growled as Harry and Dean hung onto my arms. "I don't care, I don't need my wand, I'm going to kill him with my bare hands-"

"Hurry up, I've got to take you all to Herbology" Snape barked over our heads, and off we marched, with me, Harry, and Dean bringing up the rear, me still trying to get loose. It was only safe to let me go when Snape had seen us out of the castle and we were making our way across the vegetable patch toward the greenhouses.

The Herbology class was very subdued. We were now missing three from our number, Justin, Hermione, and Elsa.

Professor Sprout set us all to work pruning Abyssinian Shrivelfigs. Harry went to tip an armful of withered stalks onto the compost heap and I saw him come face-to-face with Ernie. Will he start another accusing shouting match, like he did with Elsa? Ernie took a deep breath and said, very formally, "I just want to say, Harry, that I'm sorry I ever suspected you and your sister. I know you'd never attack Hermione Granger, or your own sister, and I apologize for all the stuff I said to her. We're all in the same boat now, and, well-"

He held out a pudgy hand, and Harry shook it. How can he forgive him that easily? He said mean things and thought they were the guilty ones over half the term!

Ernie and Hannah came to work at the same Shrivelfig as us.

"That Draco Malfoy character" Ernie said, breaking off dead twigs. "he seems very pleased about all this, doesn't he? D'you know, I think he might be Slytherin's heir"

"That's clever of you" I said, slightly sarcastic, but no one noticed. I went back to pruning.

"Do you think it's Malfoy, Harry?" Ernie asked.

"No" Harry said firmly.

There was silence for a moment, until Harry hit me over the hand with his shears. That could've stabbed me, you know!

"Ouch! What're you-"

Harry pointed outside. I looked out and saw spiders.

"Oh, yeah" I said, trying, and failing, to look pleased. Who would be? They're spiders! The bugs of death! "But we can't follow them now-"

Ernie and Hannah were listening to our conversation, albeit curiously.

Harry continued looking out at the spiders, and he narrowed his eyes.

"Looks like they're heading for the Forbidden Forest..." Harry assumed.

Not there again! I went there only once last year, and it was scary! You-Know-Who was killing unicorns and drinking their blood. Harry could've died that night if that centaur didn't interfere. Again. It. Was. SCARY!

At the end of the lesson, Professor Sprout escorted us to the DADA lesson. Not a lesson, more Lockhart blabbing about himself. Me and Harry lagged behind the class so we could talk out of earshot.

"We'll have to use the Invisibility Cloak again" Harry said. "We can take Fang with us. He's used to going into the forest with Hagrid, he might be some help"

"Right" I agreed. I was twirling my broken wand in my fingers as we took our usual places at the back of Lockhart's classroom. I _really_ don't want to go back in there. With all the bad creatures and spiders!

Lockhart bounded into the room and we all stared at him. Why is he so happy? Every other teacher in this place was looking grimmer than usual, but Lockhart appeared nothing short of buoyant.

"Come now" he cried, beaming around him. "Why all these long faces?"

Others in the class exchanged exasperated looks, but nobody answered.

"Don't you people realize" Lockhart sighed, speaking slowly, as though we were all a bit dim, "the danger has passed! The culprit has been taken away-"

"Says who?" Dean asked loudly.

"My dear young man, the Minister of Magic wouldn't have taken Hagrid if he hadn't been one hundred percent sure that he was guilty" Lockhart said, in the tone of someone explaining that one and one made two.

"Oh, yes he would" I argued, even more loudly than Dean.

"I flatter myself I know a touch more about Hagrid's arrest than you do, Mr. Weasley" Lockhart said in a self-satisfied tone.

I started to say that I didn't think so, somehow, but stopped in midsentence when Harry kicked me hard under the desk.

"We weren't there, remember?" Harry muttered.

Lockhart's disgusting cheeriness, his hints that he had always thought Hagrid was no good, his confidence that the whole business was now at an end, irritated me so much that I yearned to throw _Gadding with Ghouls_ right in Lockhart's stupid face. I received a note from Harry in scrawled writing.

 _Let's do it tonight_

I read the message, swallowed hard, and looked at the empty seats usually filled by the girls. The sight stiffened my resolve, and I nodded at Harry.

* * *

The common room was always very crowded these days, because from six o'clock onward no one had anywhere to go. They had plenty to talk about, with the result that the common room often didn't empty until past midnight.

Harry went to get the Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk right after dinner, and spent the evening sitting on it, which might not be the most comfortable thing ever, waiting for the room to clear. Fred and George challenged us to a few games of Exploding Snap, and Ginny sat watching, very subdued in Hermione's usual chair. Me and Harry kept losing on purpose, trying to finish the games quickly, I wanted to get the trip to the forest over asap, but even so, it was well past midnight when Fred, George, and Ginny finally went to bed.

Me and Harry waited for the distant sounds of two dormitory doors closing before seizing the cloak, throwing it over ourselves, and climbing through the portrait hole.

It was another difficult journey through the castle, dodging all the teachers. At last, we reached the entrance hall, slid back the lock on the oak front doors, squeezed between them, trying to stop any creaking, and stepped out into the moonlit grounds.

"Course" I said abruptly as we strode across the black-looking grass, "we might get to the forest and find there's nothing to follow. Those spiders might not've been going there at all. I know it looked like they were moving in that sort of general direction, but..." my voice trailed off hopefully.

We reached Hagrid's house, sad and sorry-looking with its blank windows. When Harry pushed the door open, Fang went mad with joy at the sight of us. I mean, he's always alone right now. Why wouldn't he? Worried he might wake everyone at the castle with his deep, booming barks, we hastily fed him treacle fudge from the tin on the mantelpiece, which glued his teeth together.

Harry left the Invisibility Cloak on the table. There would be no need for it in the pitch-dark forest.

"C'mon, Fang, we're going for a walk" Harry said, patting his leg, and Fang bounded happily out of the house behind us, dashed to the edge of the forest, and lifted his leg against a large sycamore tree. **(AN: I wonder if there were any morel mushrooms under there. That's where you find them after all, in the springtime, under sycamores.)**

Harry took out his wand.

" _Lumos!_ " he murmured. A tiny light appeared at the end of it, just enough to let us watch the path for signs of spiders. Still. Why can't it be butterflies instead!?

"Good thinking. I'd light mine, too, but you know - it'd probably blow up or something..." I trailed off. After this year, I need to get a new wand.

Harry tapped me on the shoulder, pointing at the grass. Two solitary spiders were hurrying away from the wandlight into the shade of the trees.

"Okay" I sighed, gulping as though I signed my death certificate, "I'm ready. Let's go"

* * *

 **I'll stop it there. This will maybe switch to Harry at some point. Bye my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	24. Help, just not the way as expected

**Hello. I'm sorry for not updating. My schedule is out of wack, and I read more than I write in the summer. Enjoy the long awaited chapter!**

* * *

Harry's P.O.V **(AN: Finally! Harry's turn!)**

So, with Fang scampering around us, sniffing tree roots and leaves, we entered the forest. By the glow of my wand, we followed the steady trickle of spiders moving along the path. We walked behind them for about twenty minutes, not speaking, listening hard for noises other than breaking twigs and rustling leaves. Then, when the trees had become thicker than ever, so that the stars overheard were no longer visible, and my wand shone alone in the sea of dark, we saw our spider guides leaving the path.

I paused, trying to see where the spiders were going, but everything outside my little sphere of light was pitch-black. I had never been this deep into the forest before. The last time I was here wasn't this deep. I could vividly remember Hagrid advising me _not_ to leave the forest path last time. But Hagrid was miles away now, unfortunately, probably sitting in a cell in Azkaban, and he said to follow the spiders.

Something wet touched my hand and I jumped backward, crushing Ron's foot. It was only Fang's nose.

"What d'you reckon?" I asked Ron, whose eyes I could just make out, reflecting the light from my wand.

"We've come this far" Ron answered.

So we followed the darting shadows of the spiders into the trees. We couldn't move very quickly now. There were tree roots and stumps in our way, barely visible in the near blackness. I could feel Fang's hot breath on my hand. More than once, we had to stop, so that I could crouch down and find the spiders in the wandlight.

We walked for what seemed like at least half an hour, our robes snagging on low-slung branches and brambles. After a while, I noticed that the ground seemed to be sloping downward, though the trees were as thick as ever.

Then Fang suddenly let loose a great, echoing bark, making both me and Ron jump out of our skins.

"What?" Ron asked loudly, looking around into the pitch-dark, and gripping my elbow very hard. I wish our sister was here right now to see through the darkness. That would be very helpful right now.

"There's something moving over there" I breathed. "Listen..."

We listened. Some distance to our right, something was snapping branches as it carved a path through the trees.

"Oh no" Ron panicked. "Oh no, oh no, oh-"

"Shut up" I said frantically. "It'll hear you"

"Hear me?" Ron asked in an unnaturally high voice. I would've laughed if the situation was different. "It's already heard Fang!"

The darkness seemed to be pressing on our eyeballs as we stood, terrified, waiting. There was a strange rumbling noise and then silence.

"What d'you think it's doing?" I asked.

"Probably getting ready to pounce" Ron guessed.

We waited, shivering, hardly daring to move.

"D'you think it's gone?" I whispered.

"Dunno-"

Then, there was a sudden roar. It was loud and terrifying. It was so sudden that I jumped and dropped my wand. It dropped to the ground, and the light extinguished, leaving us in the pitch-dark forest.

"Damn. Ron, can you help me find it?" I asked.

"No worries, Harry. I got it" a new voice said. A few seconds later I heard a _"Lumos!"_ and we found ourselves in light again.

"Here, Harry" the voice said again.

I turned to the voice, and my jaw dropped and my eyes widened upon seeing who it was.

"You're seeing this too, right?" I asked.

"Yep" Ron answered.

* * *

 **I wanted to stop it here, but since it was a long time before this update, and it's shorter than the others, I guess I'll keep going.** **Get ready for this surprise!**

 **Are you ready?**

 **Are you ready yet?**

 **Now?**

 **How about now?**

 **Okay. I'll start the next part when you're ready.**

 **Are you ready yet? No? Okay, I'll wait.**

 **A**

 **R**

 **E**

 **Y**

 **O**

 **U**

 **R**

 **E**

 **A**

 **D**

 **Y**

 **Y**

 **E**

 **T**

 **?**

 **Now? Okay. Ready? Prepare yourself!**

* * *

There, stood one of the two people we least expected in the forest. Elsa stood there, with my wand in her hand, bathing us in light.

"What?" she asked. "Close your mouths too, you'll catch flies"

I closed my mouth, but kept staring at her.

"...W-What are you doing here?" Ron asked, somewhat, getting his voice back.

"I'm here to help, of course. Do you really think that I'll sit on the sidelines while you try to get yourselves killed?" she answered.

"Last time we checked, you were still in the hospital wing with Hermione and the other victims" I said.

"Oh. I'm not really here" Elsa said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The real me is still up in the castle, but I'm a small part of the real me that's going to help you" she explained.

"So, you're your own consciousness?" Ron asked.

"I guess. Here, Harry" she shrugged.

I shakily grabbed my wand from her.

"Hey! D'you remember anything before you were Petrified?" I asked.

"Let's head back to the castle and I'll tell you what I remember" she suggested.

"Good idea!" Ron exclaimed, happy to get out.

"Well, we were going to follow the spiders, but I guess we can do it later" I agreed.

"What for? Where were they taking you? What was your purpose for following them?" Elsa asked as we headed back.

She makes fair points. Where _were_ we going? What did we hope to find? Information on the attacks.

"What do you remember?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Hmm. Let's see...I remember going to the library with Hermione after I woke up. I wrote the note to Wood-" she started.

"Sorry to interrupt, but why choose me as your sub?" I asked. I really wanted to know.

"I know you would've done great, so I gave you a chance to prove to everyone that I'm not the only one that does great in Quidditch" she explained.

"How did you know? What if I messed up?" I doubted.

"I _know_ you would've done great. I had _no_ doubt in you" Elsa put her hand on my shoulder to calm me down. It worked.

"Continue?" Ron asked.

"Oh. Right. We went to the library because I figured out the monster. Hermione tore the page out and wrote a word on the bottom of the page. I was on my way to the Quidditch pitch for the match, but when I got to the entrance hall, I saw two yellow eyes. Then nothing" she finished.

"You figured it out? What's the monster?" I asked.

"Well, me and Hermione figured it out"

"It was you first" Ron argued.

"It was a hunch at first"

"A very big hunch"

"What's the monster?" I asked.

"...I don't remember. I'm only a _small_ part of the real me, but I _can_ tell you that all you need to know is on the page. Which is with your friend and sister" she answered.

We finally got to the edge of the forest.

"You're welcome, by the way" Elsa said.

"Hm? What for?" I asked.

"Multiple reasons. One being saving you from almost getting killed, and two being what I told you"

"Oh. Thank you"

"Now, you two better get back to the castle. Isn't it well over midnight?" she asked.

"You're not coming with us?" Ron asked.

"If I went, what would I say? _I'm only a small part of the real me that doesn't remember much of anything._ Really?" Elsa asked incredulously.

Ron's ears went red.

"What will you do?" I asked.

"I might keep Fang company, or I can keep Fluffy company, or I can keep out of sight in the hospital wing. I really can't tell right now" she shrugged.

"Well, you tell us when you figure it out, okay?" I smiled.

"You'll be the first to know" she smiled.

I went inside to let Fang back in and got the cloak. Fang happily bounded inside after being petted by Elsa. I grabbed the Invisibility Cloak from where I left it, and left. I closed the door after me and put the cloak over both me and Ron.

"You sure you're not coming?" Ron asked.

"Yeah. Now, go back to the castle before you get in trouble" Elsa urged.

"Alright. Alright. We're going" I laughed beginning to walk to the castle.

"Oh! One more thing you should know" Elsa remembered. I stopped, so did Ron.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"The last time the Chamber was opened. The girl who died was in the bathroom"

What did that have to do with anything!?

"Uh...okay? See you later then" I waved, even though she didn't see me.

"What was that about?" Ron asked, confused.

"Beats me, mate" I answered, shrugging.

As the castle loomed nearer, I twitched the cloak to make sure our feet were hidden, then pushed the creaking front doors ajar. We walked carefully back across the entrance hall and up the marble staircase, holding our breaths as we passed corridors where watchful sentries were walking.

After walking after what seemed like forever, we finally reached the safety of the Gryffindor common room. The fire had burned itself into glowing ash. We took off the cloak and climbed the winding stairs to our dormitory.

Ron fell onto his bed without bothering to get undressed. I, however, didn't feel very sleepy. I sat on the edge of my four-poster, thinking hard about everything my sister had said.

Me and Ron were no closer to finding out what it was, or how it petrified its victims. Even with everything Elsa said, and I _still_ couldn't get it. She helped a lot, though.

I swung my legs up onto my bed and leaned back against my pillows, watching the moon glinting at me through the tower window.

I couldn't see what else to do. We had hit dead ends everywhere. Riddle had caught the wrong person, the Heir of Slytherin had got off, and no one could tell whether it was the same person, or a different one, who had opened the Chamber this time. There was nobody else to ask. I lay down, still thinking.

I was becoming drowsy when I suddenly sat bolt upright. I realize what you said now. Thank you, Elsa.

"Ron" I hissed through the dark, "Ron-"

Ron then yelped like Fang, and stared wildly around before looking at me. Whoops, guess I woke him up. Oh well. I have to say this.

"Ron - that girl who died. Elsa said she died in a bathroom" I started, ignoring Neville's snuffling snores from the corner. "What if she's still there? What if she never left?"

Ron rubbed his eyes, frowning through the moonlight. It looked like he finally understood too.

"You don't think - not Moaning Myrtle?"

* * *

 **And that's where I'll end it. I changed where Harry and Ron meets Aragog. It took me awhile to know what to do, and this is the result. Hope it didn't confuzzle you too much. Bye my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	25. Figured it out!

**Hello. My plan to finish this during summer failed. School's back up in less than a week for me. Almost done with this book, though. Enjoy!**

* * *

Harry's P.O.V

"All those times we were in that bathroom, and she was just three toilets away" Ron said bitterly at breakfast. "And we could've asked her, and now..."

It was hard enough trying to look for spiders. Escaping the teachers long enough to sneak into a girls' bathroom, the girls' bathroom, moreover, right next to the scene of the first attack, was going to be almost impossible.

Something happened in our first lesson, Transfiguration, that drove the Chamber of Secrets out of our minds for the first time in weeks. Ten minutes into the class, Professor McGonagall told us that our exams would start on the first of June, one week from today.

"Exams?" Seamus howled. "We're still getting exams?"

There was a loud bang behind me as Neville's wand slipped, vanishing one of the legs on his desk. Professor McGonagall restored it with a wave of her own wand, and turned, frowning, to Seamus.

"The whole point of keeping the school open at this time is for you to receive your education" she said sternly. "The exams will therefore take place as usual, and I trust you are all studying hard"

Studying hard! It had never occurred to me that there would be exams with the castle in this state. There was a great deal of mutinous muttering around the room, which made Professor McGonagall scowl even more darkly. She scares me sometimes when she's like that.

"Professor Dumbledore's instructions were to keep the school running as normally as possible" she said. "And that, I need hardly point out, means finding out how much you have learned this year"

I looked down at the pair of white rabbits I was supposed to be turning into slippers. What have I learned so far this year? I couldn't seem to think of anything that would be useful in an exam.

Ron looked as though he'd just been told he had to go and live in the Forbidden Forest.

"Can you imagine me taking exams with this?" he asked me, holding up his broken wand, which had just started whistling loudly. I wanted to laugh at what I imagined, but it was a bad time.

* * *

Three days before the first of June, Professor McGonagall made another announcement at breakfast.

"I have good news" she started, and the Great Hall, instead of falling silent, erupted.

"Dumbledore's coming back!" several people yelled joyfully.

"You've caught the Heir of Slytherin!" a girl at the Ravenclaw table squealed.

"Quidditch matches are back on!" Wood roared excitedly.

"Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching the culprit" she said when the hubbub subsided.

There was an explosion of cheering. I looked over at the Slytherin table and wasn't at all surprised to see that Malfoy hadn't joined in. Ron, however, was looking happier than I'd seen him look in days.

"It won't matter that we never asked Myrtle, then!" he said to me. "Hermione or Elsa'll probably have all the answers when they wake them up! Mind you, they'll go crazy when they find out we've got exams in three days time. They haven't studied. It might be kinder to leave them where they are till they're over"

Just then, Ginny came over and sat down next to Ron. She looked tense and nervous. I noticed that her hands were twisting in her lap.

"What's up?" Ron asked, helping himself to more porridge.

Ginny didn't say anything, but glanced up and down the Gryffindor table with a scared look on her face that reminded me of someone, though I couldn't think of who at the moment.

"Spit it out" Ron urged, watching her.

Like Elsa hitting me upside the head, I suddenly realized who Ginny looked like. She was rocking back and forth slightly in her chair, exactly like Dobby did when he was teetering on the edge of revealing forbidden information.

"I've got to tell you something" Ginny mumbled, carefully not looking at me.

"What is it?" I asked.

Ginny looked as though she couldn't find the right words.

"What?" Ron asked.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. I leaned forward and spoke quietly, so that only Ginny and Ron could hear me.

"Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets? Have you seen something? Someone acting oddly?" I asked.

Ginny drew a deep breath and, at that precise moment, Percy had to appear, looking tired and wan.

"If you've finished eating, I'll take that seat, Ginny. I'm starving, I've only just come off patrol duty" Percy said.

Ginny jumped up as though her chair had just been electrified, gave Percy a fleeting, frightened look, and scampered away. Why would she be scared of Percy? Or anyone for that matter? She looks as if someone will come up and tackle her to the ground, or she saw someone rise from the dead. Percy sat down and grabbed a mug from the center of the table.

"Percy!" Ron said angrily. "She was just about to tell us something important!"

Halfway through a gulp of tea, Percy choked. **(AN: Ooh, so that's how you spell it.** **I spelt it with a 'c' after the 'o'. I spelled it like 'chocked'. I'm stupid.)**

"What sort of thing?" he asked, coughing.

"I just asked her if she'd seen anything odd, and she started to say-"

"Oh - that - that's nothing to do with the Chamber of Secrets" Percy said at once.

"How do you know?" Ron asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Well, er, if you must know, Ginny, er, walked in on me the other day when I was - well, nevermind - the point is, she spotted me doing something and I, um, I asked her not to mention it to anybody. I must say, I did think she'd keep her word. It's nothing, really, I'd just rather-"

I had never seen Percy look so uncomfortable, but why do I get the feeling that Ginny wasn't going to say anything about Percy?

"What were you doing, Percy?" Ron asked, grinning. "Go on, tell us, we won't laugh"

Percy didn't smile back.

"Pass me those rolls, Harry, I'm starving"

* * *

I knew the whole mystery might be solved tomorrow without our help, but I wasn't about to pass up a chance to speak to Myrtle if it turned up - and to my delight it did, mid-morning, when we were being led to History of Magic by Lockhart.

Lockhart, who had so often assured us that all danger had passed, only to be proved wrong right away, was now wholeheartedly convinced that it was hardly worth the trouble to see them safely down the corridors. His hair wasn't as sleek as usual. It seemed he had been up most of the night, patrolling the fourth floor.

"Mark my words" he said, ushering us around a corner. "The first words out of those poor Petrified people's mouths will be 'It was Hagrid'. Frankly, I'm astonished Professor McGonagall thinks all these security measures are necessary"

"I agree, sir" I fake agreed, making Ron drop his books in surprise. I make up my plans as I go.

"Thank you, Harry" Lockhart said graciously while we waited for a long line of Hufflepuffs to pass. "I mean, we teachers have quite enough to be getting on with, without walking students to classes and standing guard all night..."

"That's right" Ron said, catching on. "Why don't you leave us here, sir, we've only got one more corridor to go-"

"You know, Weasley, I think I will" Lockhart said. "I really should go and prepare my next class-"

And he hurried off.

"Prepare his class" Ron sneered after him. "Gone to curl his hair, more like"

We let the rest of the Gryffindors draw ahead of them, then darted down a side passage and hurried off toward Myrtle's bathroom. But just as we were congratulating each other on our brilliant scheme.

"Potter! Weasley! What are you doing?"

It was Professor McGonagall, and her mouth was the thinnest of thin lines.

"We were - we were -" Ron stammered. "We were going to - to go and see-"

"Hermione and Autumn" I finished. Both Ron and Professor McGonagall looked at me.

"We haven't seen them for ages, Professor" I went on hurriedly, treading on Ron's foot, "And we thought we'd sneak into the hospital wing, you know, and tell them the Mandrakes are nearly ready and, er, not to worry-"

Professor McGonagall was still staring at me, and for a moment, I thought she was going to explode, but when she spoke, it was in a strangely croaky voice.

"Of course" she said, and I, amazed, saw a tear glistening in her eye. "Of course, I realize this has all been hardest on the friends of those who have been...I quite understand. Yes, Potter, of course you may visit Miss Granger and your sister. I will inform Professor Binns where you've gone. Tell Madam Pomfrey I have given my permission"

Ron and I walked away, hardly daring to believe that we'd avoided detention. As we turned the corner, we distinctly heard Professor McGonagall blow her nose.

"That...was the best story you've ever come up with" Ron complimented fervently.

Now we had no choice but to go to the hospital wing and tell Madam Pomfrey that we had Professor McGonagall's permission to visit Hermione and our sister.

Madam Pomfrey let us in, although reluctantly when we got there.

"There's just no point talking to a Petrified person" she said, and I had to admit she had a point when we'd taken our seats next to Hermione. It was plain that she didn't have the faintest inkling that they both had visitors. We might just as well tell their bedside cabinets not to worry for all the good it would do.

"Wonder if she did see the attacker, though? Either of them" Ron said, looking sadly at Hermione's rigid face. "Because if he sneaked up on them all, no one'll ever know..."

I wasn't looking at Hermione's face. I was too tied up in my thoughts about that night in the forest. Who had the piece of parchment with the information that we need?

I looked down at Hermione's hands to see that she didn't have a piece of parchment in her hands. So, it must be Autumn. I stood up and walked over to her, and then down to her hands. Laying tightly clenched in her right hand, was a crumpled piece of parchment.

Making sure that Madam Pomfrey was nowhere near, I pointed this out to Ron.

"Go on and get it out" he whispered, switching seats and shifting his chair so that he blocked me from Madam Pomfrey's view.

It was no easy task. Elsa's hand was clamped so tightly around the parchment that I was sure that I was going to tear it. While Ron kept watch I tugged and twisted, and at last, after several tense minutes, the parchment came free.

It was a page torn from a very old library book. I smoothed it out eagerly and Ron leaned close to read it too.

 _O_ _f the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it._

And beneath this, two words had been written, in hands that I recognized as the girls, _Pipes_ and _Reflections_. Although, there was more writing from Elsa in the margin at the end. It said _See, spiders have fears too_. Which, I can tell, was meant for Ron.

It was as though somebody had just flicked a light on in my brain, like they finally came home.

"Ron!" I breathed. "This is it. This is the answer. The monster in the Chamber's a basilisk - a giant serpent! That's why me and Elsa have been hearing that voice all over the place, and nobody else has heard it. It's because we understand Parseltongue..."

I looked up at the beds around us.

"The basilisk kills people by looking at them. But no one's died-" then I thought of what Elsa wrote. "Because no one looked it straight in the eye. Colin saw it through his camera. The basilisk burned up all the film inside it, but Colin just got Petrified. Justin..." then I remember that he was found with Nick. "Justin must've seen the basilisk through Nearly Headless Nick! Nick got the full blast of it, but he couldn't die again...and Hermione, Elsa, and that Ravenclaw prefect were found with mirrors next to them. Hermione and Elsa had just realized the monster was a basilisk. Elsa tried to give us the information at the Quidditch match, and I bet you anything Hermione warned the first person she met to look around corners with a mirror first! And that Ravenclaw girl pulled out her mirror - and-"

Ron's jaw dropped.

"And Mrs. Norris?" he whispered eagerly.

I thought long and hard, picturing the scene on the night of Halloween.

"The water..." I said slowly. "The flood from Myrtle's bathroom. I bet you Mrs. Norris only saw the reflection..."

I scanned the page in my hand eagerly. The more I looked at it, the more it made sense.

"...The crowing of the rooster...is fatal to it!" I read aloud. "Hagrid's roosters were killed! The Heir of Slytherin didn't want anyone anywhere near the castle once the Chamber was opened! Spiders flee before it! It all fits!"

"But how's the basilisk been getting around the place?" Ron asked. "A giant snake...someone would've seen..."

I, however, pointed at the word Hermione had scribbled at the foot of the page.

"Pipes" I said. "Pipes...Ron, it's been using the plumbing. Elsa and I have been hearing that voice inside the walls..."

Ron suddenly grabbed my arm.

"The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets!" he said hoarsely. "What if it's a bathroom? What if it's in-"

"Myrtle's bathroom" I finished.

* * *

 **I think I'll stop it here. I wanted to keep going with this chapter and go all the way through because I can't choose which awesome place to stop at, but I decided here. I have to go to school on Thursday, or whatever day is in two days where you are at. I wish I could've gotten more done. Oh, well. Too late now. Bye my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	26. Finding the Chamber

**Hello. First chapter of this story in the school year. All of my stories will have slow updates since I don't have a Study Hall this year, more homework since I'm a junior, and the internet at school sucks. So, just bear with me on my updating. I'll update when I can. IMPORTANT AN AT THE BOTTOM! Enjoy!**

* * *

Ron's P.O.V

We sat there, excitement coursing through me, hardly able to believe it. We can avenge our sister and friend!

"This means" Harry said. "I can't be the only Parselmouth in the school right now. The Heir of Slytherin's one, too. That's how he's been controlling the Basilisk"

"What're we going to do?" I asked. "Should we go straight to McGonagall?"

"Let's go to the staff room" Harry decided, jumping up. "She'll be there in ten minutes. It's nearly break"

We ran downstairs. Not wanting to be discovered hanging around in another corridor, we went straight into the deserted staff room. It was a large, paneled room full of dark, wooden chairs. Harry and I paced around the room, too excited to sit down.

But the bell to signal break never came. Why didn't it signal?

Then, I got my answer. Echoing throughout the corridors came Professor McGonagall's voice, magically magnified.

"All students to return to their House dordormitories at once. All teachers return to the staff room. Immediately, please"

Harry wheeled around to stare at me. "Not another attack? Not now?"

"What'll we do?" I asked, aghast. "Go back to the dormitory?"

"No" Harry answered, glancing around. There was an ugly sort of wardrobe to his left. "In here. Let's hear what it's all about. Then we can tell them what we've found out"

We hid ourselves inside it, which was full of cloaks, listening to the rumbling of hundreds of people moving overhead, and the staff room door banging open. From between the musty folds of the cloaks, we watched the teachers filtering into the room. Some of them were looking puzzled, others downright scared. Then Professor McGonagall arrived.

"It has happened" she told the silent staff room. "A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself"

Professor Flitwick let out a squeal. Professor Sprout clapped her hands over her mouth. Snape gripped the back of a chair very hard.

"How can you be sure?" he asked.

"The Heir of Slytherin" Professor McGonagall said, who was very white now. "Left another message. Right underneath the first one. _Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever_ "

Professor Flitwick burst into tears.

"Who is it? Which student?"Madam Hooch asked, who had sunk, weak-kneed, into a chair.

"Ginny Weasley" Professor McGonagall answered.

I slid silently down to the floor. No! Not Ginny! Now both of my sisters, blood and adopted, are in trouble. I really want to just go out there and tell them right now what did this. Either that, or just go back to the dormitory.

"We shall have to send all the students home tomorrow" Professor McGonagall said. "This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said..."

The staff room banged open again. It was Lockhart, and he was beaming!

"So sorry - dozed off - what have I missed?" he asked.

He didn't seem to notice that the other professors were looking at him with something remarkably like hatred. Snape stepped forward.

"Just the man. The very man. A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart. Taken into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Your moment has come at last" he said.

Lockhart blanched.

"That's right, Gilderoy. Weren't you saying just last night the you've known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?" Professor Sprout chipped in.

"I - well, I -" Lockhart sputtered.

"Yes, didn't you tell me you were sure you knew what was inside it?" Professor Flitwick piped up.

"D-did I? I don't recall-"

"I certainly remember you saying you were sorry that you hadn't had a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested. Didn't you say that the whole affair had been bungled, and that you should have been given a free rein from the first?" Snape chimed.

Lockhart stared around at his stony-faced colleagues.

"I - I really never - you may have misunderstood-"

"We'll leave it to you, then, Gilderoy. Tonight will be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster all by yourself. A free rein at last" Professor McGonagall said.

Lockhart gazed desperately around him, but nobody stepped up for him. He didn't look remotely like himself anymore. His lip was trembling, and in the absence of his usually toothy grin, he looked weak-chinned and feeble.

"V-very well" he said. "I'll - I'll be in my office, getting - getting ready"

And he left the room.

"Right" Professor McGonagall said, whose nostrils were flared. "That's got _him_ out from under our feet. The Heads of Houses should go and inform their students what has happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow. Will the rest of you please make sure no students have been left outside their dormitories?"

The professors rose and left, one by one. First Autumn, and now Ginny. Who next?

* * *

Harry's P.O.V

It was probably the worst day of my entire life. Ron, Fred, George, and I sat together in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, unable to say anything to each other. It's unusual for them to not talk. Percy wasn't here. He had gone to send an owl to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, then shut himself up in his dormitory.

No afternoon ever lasted as long as this one, nor had Gryffindor Tower ever been so crowded, yet so quiet. Near sunset, Fred and George went up to bed, unable to sit there any longer.

"She knew something, Harry" Ron deducted, spspeaking for the first time since we had entered the wardrobe in the staff room. "That's why she was taken. It wasn't some stupid thing about Percy at all. She'd found out something about the Chamber of Secrets. That must be why she was -" Ron rubbed his eyes frantically. "I mean, she was a Pure-blood. There can't be any other reason"

"Remember, Ron, that Autumn was a Half-Blood" I reminded. I could see the sun sinking, blood-red, below the skyline. This was the worst I had ever felt. If only there was something we could do. Anything.

"Harry" Ron called. "D'you think there's any chance at all she's not - you know-"

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't see how Ginny could still be alive after being in there for hours.

"D'you know what?" Ron asked. "I think we should go see Lockhart. Tell him what we know. He's going to try and get into the Chamber. We can tell him where we think it is, and tell him it's a Basilisk in there"

I agreed, only because I couldn't think of anything else to do, and I wanted to do something. The other Gryffindors around us were so miserable, and felt so sorry for the Weasleys, that nobody tried to stop us as we got up, crossed the room, and left through the portrait hole.

Darkness was falling as we walked down to Lockhart's office. There seemed to be a lot of activity going on inside it. I could hear scraping, thumps, and hurried footsteps.

I knocked and there was a sudden silence from inside. Then the door opened the tiniest crack and we saw one of Lockhart's eyes peering through it.

"Oh - Mr. Potter - Mr. Weasley -" he said, opening the door a bit wider. "I'm rather busy at the moment - if you be quick-"

"Professor, we've got some information for you" I said. "We think it'll help you"

"Er - well - it's not terribly -" the side of his face that we could see looked very uncomfortable. "I mean - well - all right-"

He opened the door and we entered.

His office had been almost completely stripped. Two large trunks stood open on the floor. Robes, jade-green, lilac, midnight blue, had been hastily folded into one of them. Books were jumbled untidily into the other. The photographs that had covered the walls were now crammed into boxes on the desk.

"Are you going somewhere?" I asked.

"Er, well, yes" Lockhart answered, ripping a life-size poster of himself from the back of the door as he spoke and starting to roll it up. "Urgent call - unavoidable - got to go-"

"What about my sister?" Ron asked jerkily.

"Well, as to that - most unfortunate -" Lockhart responded, avoiding our eyes as he wrenched open a drawer and started emptying the contents into a bag. "No one regrets more than I-"

"You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! You can't go now! Not with all the Dark stuff going on here!" I exclaimed.

"Well - I must say - when I took the job -" Lockhart muttered, now piling socks on top of his robes. "Nothing in the job description - didn't expect-"

"You mean you're _running away_?" I said disbelievingly. "After all that stuff you did in your books-"

"Books can be misleading" Lockhart said delicately.

"You wrote them!" I shouted.

"My dear boy" he said, straightening up and frowning at me. "Do use your common sense. My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think _I'd_ done all those things. No one wants to read about some ugly old Armenian warlock, even if he did save a village from werewolves. He'd look dreadful on the front cover. No dress sense at all. The witch who banished the Bandon Banshee had a hairy chin. I mean, come on-"

"So you've just been taking credit for what a load of other people have done?" I asked incredulously. I knew he was a git, but _seriously_!

"Harry, Harry" Lockhart said, shaking his head impatiently. "It's not nearly as simple as that. There was work involved. I had to track these people down. Ask them exactly how they managed to do what they did. Then I had to put a Memory Charm on them so they wouldn't remember doing it. If there's one thing I pride myself on, it's my Memory Charms. No, it's been a lot of work, Harry. It's not all book signings and publicity photos, you know. You want fame, you have to be prepared **(AN: Lion King, BE PRE-PAAAAAAAAAAAAAARED!)** for a long hard slog"

He banged the lids of his trunks shut and locked them.

"Let's see. I think that's everything. Yes. Only one thing left" he mused.

He pulled out his wand and turned to us.

"Awfully sorry, boys, but I'll have to put a Memory Charm on you now. Can't have you blabbing my secrets all over the place. I'd never sell another book-"

I reached my wand just in time. Lockhart had barely raised his when I casted a spell. Seriously, attacking a student!

" _Expelliarmus!_ " I bellowed.

Lockhart was blasted backward, falling over his trunk. His wand flew high into the air. Ron caught it, and flung it out of the open window. I could swear that I heard Elsa laughing just then.

"See ya! Wouldn't want to be ya!" she would've laughed.

"Shouldn't have let Professor Snape teach us that one" I said furiously, kicking his trunk aside. Lockhart was looking up at me, feeble once more. I was still pointing my wand at him.

"What d'you want me to do?" Lockhart asked weakly. "I don't know where the Chamber of Secrets is. There's nothing I can do"

"You're in luck" I said, forcing him to his feet at wandpoint. "We think _we_ know where it is. _And_ what's inside it. Let's go"

We marched Lockhart out of his office and down the nearest stairs, along the dark corridor where the messages shone on the wall, to the door of Myrtle's bathroom.

We sent Lockhart in first. I was pleased to see that he was shaking. I was also pleased that we didn't get caught by another professor.

Myrtle was sitting on the tank of the end toilet.

"Oh, hi, Harry" she greeted when she saw me. "How are you?"

"Not good, Myrtle. You know about what's going on in the castle, right?" I asked.

"Yeah. I even heard about Elsa and Hermione. They were the first nice girls that I met here" she nodded.

"Well, we have some information, and wanted to ask how you died" I explained.

She perked up so much after hearing that. She looked as though she had never been asked such a flattering question.

"Ooooh, it was dreadful" she started with relish. It was one of her flipped words. She uses words like dreadful, awful, and terrible for words like awesome, terrific, and great. It was weird for a while, then I got used to it.

"It happened right in here. I died in this very stall. I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked, and I was crying, and then I heard somebody come in. They said something funny. A different language, I think it must have been. Anyway, what really got me was that it was a _boy_ speaking. So I unlocked the door, to tell him to go and use his own toilet, and then-" Myrtle swelled importantly, her face shining. "I _died_ "

"How?" I promted.

"No idea" Myrtle shrugged in hushed tones. "I just remember seeing a pair of great, big, yellow eyes. My whole body sort of seized up, and then I was floating away..." she looked dreamily at me. "And then I came back again. I was determined to haunt Olive Hornby, you see. Oh, she was sorry she'd ever laughed at my glasses"

"Where exactly did you see the eyes?" I asked.

"Somewhere there" Myrtle answered, pointing vaguely toward the sink in front of her toilet.

Ron and I rushed over to it. Lockhart stood back.

It looked like an ordinary sink. We examined every inch of it, inside and out, including the pipes below. And then I saw it. Scratched on the side of one of the copper taps was a tiny snake.

"That tap's never worked" Myrtle said brightly when I tried to turn it.

"Harry" Ron called. "Say something. Something in Parseltongue"

"But-" I thought hard. The only times I'd ever managed to speak Parseltongue were when I'd been faced with a real snake. I stared hard at the tiny engraving, trying to imagine it was real.

"Open up" I ordered.

I turned to Ron, who shook his head.

"English" he said.

I looked back at the snake, willing myself to believe it was alive. If I moved my head, the candlelight made it look as though it was moving.

" _Open up_ " I tried again.

Right after I said/hissed those words, the tap glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. Next second, the sink began to move. The sink, in fact, sank, right out of sight, leaving a large pipe exposed, a pipe wide enough for a man to slide into.

I heard Ron gasp and looked up again. I made up my mind on what I was going to do, and nothing will change my mind.

"I'm going down there" I said in a determined voice.

I couldn't _not_ go, not now when we found the entrance to the Chamber, not if there was even the faintest, slimmest, wildest chance that Ginny might be alive.

"Me too" Ron agreed. I would want to go down to if the roles were reversed.

There was a pause.

"Well, you hardly seem to need me" Lockhart said. "I'll just-"

Ron and I both pointed our wands at him as he put his hand on the door knob.

"You can go first" Ron snarled.

Lockhart approached the opening, white-faced and wandless.

"Boys" he tried, his voice feeble. "Boys, what good will it do?"

"Better you than us" Ron growled as I jabbed him in the back with my wand. Lockhart slid his legs into the pipe.

"I really don't think-" he started, but Ron gave him a push, and he slid out of sight. I was kind of tempted to leave him, but that would mean Ginny too, so I followed after. I lowered myself slowly into the pipe, then let go.

It was like rushing down an endless, slimy, dark slide, which I bet Elsa would love and think was fun. I could see more pipes branching off in all directions, but none as large as this one, which twisted and turned, sloping steeply downward, and i knew that I was falling deeper below the school than even the dungeons. Behind me I could hear Ron, thudding slightly at the curves. That'll hurt in the morning.

And then, just as I began to worry about what would happen when I hit the ground, the pipe leveled out, and I shot out of the end with a wet thud, landing on the damp floor of a dark stone tunnel large enough to stand in. Lockhart was getting to his feet a little ways away, covered in slime and white as a ghost. I stood aside as Ron came whizzing out of the pipe.

"We must be miles under the school" I thought, my voice echoing in the black tunnel.

"Under the lake, probably" Ron guessed, squinting around at the dark, slimy walls.

All three of us turned to stare into the darkness ahead. Good time for Elsa to be here, even the small part of her right now.

" _Lumos!_ " I cast to my wand and it lit. "C'mon" I urged Ron and Lockhart, and off we went, our footsteps slapping loudly on the wet floor.

The tunnel was so dark that we could only see a little distance ahead. Our shadows on the wet walls looked monstrous in the wandlight.

"Remember, any sign of movement, close your eyes right away..." I reminded quietly as we cautiously walked forward.

But the tunnel was quiet as the grave, and the first unexpected sound we heard was a loud _crunch_ as Ron stepped on what turned out to be a rat's skull **(AN: So wish that that was Pettigrew.)**. I lowered my wand to look at the floor and saw that it was littered with small animal bones (Elsa would _not_ have liked that.). Trying very hard not to imagine what Ginny might look like if we found her, I led the way forward, around a dark bend in the tunnel.

"Harry - there's something up there-" Ron warned hoarsely, grabbing my shoulder.

We froze, watching. I could just see the outline of something huge and curved, lying right across the tunnel. It wasn't moving.

"Maybe it's asleep" I guessed, glancing back at the other two. Lockhart's hands were pressed over his eyes. I turned back to look at the thing, my heart beating so fast it hurt.

Very slowly, my eyes as narrow as I could make while still being able to see, I edged forward, my wand held high.

The light slid over a gigantic snake skin, of a vivid, poisonous green, lying curled and empty across the tunnel floor. The basilisk that had shed it must have been twenty feet long at least.

"Blimey" Ron breathed weakly.

There was a sudden movement behind us. Lockhart's knees had given away.

"Get up" Ron ordered sharply, pointing his wand at Lockhart.

Lockhart got to his feet - then he dived at Ron, knocking him to the ground.

I jumped forward to help Ron with him, but too late - Lockhart was straightening up, panting, Ron's wand in his hand and a gleaming smile back on his face. Oh, we're so screwed.

"The adventure ends here, boys! I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them I was too late to save the girl, and that you two _tragically_ lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body - say goodbye to your memories!" he said dramatically.

" _Obliviate!_ " he yelled, raising Ron's Spellotaped wand high over his head.

The wand exploded with the force of a small bomb. I flung my arms over my head and ran, slipping over the coils of snake skin, out of the way of chunks of the tunnel ceiling that was crashing to the floor. The next moment, I was standing alone, gazing at a solid wall of broken rock.

"Ron! Are you okay? Ron!" I shouted.

"I'm here! I'm okay - this git's not, though - he got blasted by the wand-" his muffled voice camcame through from behind the rock wall.

"At least it wasn't one of the rare times that your wand did a spell right" I replied.

There was a dull thud and a loud "Ow!". It sounded as though Ron had just kicked Lockhart in the shins.

"What now? We can't get through - it'll take ages..." Ron asked, sounding desperate.

I looked up at the tunnel ceiling. Huge cracks had appeared in it. I had never tried to break apart anything as large as these rocks by magic, and now didn't seem a good moment to try - what if the whole tunnel caved in?

There was another thud and another "Ow!" from behind the rocks. We were wasting time. Ginny had already been in the Chamber of Secrets for hours. I knew that there was only one thing to do.

"Wait there. Wait with Lockhart. I'll go on...if I'm not back in an hour..." I called, trailing off.

There was a pregnant pause. You could probably hear somebody breathing.

"I'll try and shift some of this rock" Ron offered, who seemed to be trying to keep his voice steady. "So you can - can get back through, and, Harry-"

"See you in a bit" I said, trying to put some confidence in my shaking voice. I guess I'm on my own now.

I set off alone past the giant snake skin.

Pretty soon, the noise of Ron straining to shift the rock was gone. The tunnel turned and turned, again and again. Every nerve in my body tingling unpleasantly. I wanted the tunnel to end already, but I also dreaded what I'd find when it did end. At last, as I crept around yet another bend, I saw the end. It was a solid wall, on which two entwined serpents were carved, their eyes set with great, glinting emeralds.

I approached, my throat dry now. Now there was no need to pretend that these stone snakes were real. Their eyes looked strangely alive. I cleared my throat, and the emerald eyes seemed to flicker.

" _Open_ " I hissed, low and faint.

The serpents parted as the wall cracked open, the halves slid smoothly out of sight. I, shaking from head to toe, walked inside.

* * *

 **OH MY GOD! FUCKING FINALLY! Please excuse my language, but more language like that will come up later, just for a heads up. Every chapter takes me about two weeks because of school and homework. If I still had a Study Hall, then I could get chapters done sooner. Can I have some help writing the chapters please? I don't want it to be weeks to months before updating. I really don't like making you guys wait that long. If I have help with this, then I can get this done sooner, and get the others started and finished, and then finish the ones I started, but haven't finished. HELP ME!**

 **Elsa: Please? I don't want to be stuck like a statue anymore!**

 **Bye my little wizard turtles. Review, and help?**


	27. Out of the Chamber

**Hello. Since we all know what happened down in the Chamber, I don't think I'll write it. I'll write Ron and Elsa's P.O.V, even though she's still a statue.**

 **Elsa: How is that possible?**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Ron's P.O.V

"See you in a bit" Harry called, effectively cutting me off, and good thing too. I didn't even know what I would've said after.

I decided to start shifting the rocks so Harry and Ginny can get back through. I don't even want to think if Ginny is anything but alive. I have a bit of hope that she is. She has to be. I don't want to lose my sisters, either blood or adopted.

If I could, I still would've gone with Harry. I would've found the person who was responsible and rip them apart. If you mess with one Weasley, you mess with us all, blood or adopted.

"It's dark in here, isn't it?" Lockhart asked. I actually forgot I was stuck with him for a second.

"I guess" I shrugged.

"Do you live here?" he asked.

"...No. Why don't you go sit and wait at the entrance to the tunnel?" I suggested.

"Uh, where is that exactly?" he asked. I pointed to the way we came, and I heard footsteps walking away.

I shifted more rock over to where the ceiling won't collapse.

This...will take a while.

* * *

"Ron!" I heard Harry yell. "Ginny's okay! I've got her!"

I cheered. Oh, thank Merlin that she was okay! _ALIVE_ , even! I climbed up to the sizable hole that I made to see Ginny.

" _Ginny_!" I thrust a hand out through the gap to pull Ginny through first. "You're alive! I don't believe it! What happened? How - what - where did that bird come from?"

"He's Dumbledore's" Harry explained, squeezing through the gap himself.

"How come you've got a _sword_?" I asked, gaping at the glittering weapon in his hand.

"I'll explain when we get out of here" Harry said. Ginny was crying harder than ever now.

"But-"

"Later" Harry said shortly. "Where's Lockhart?"

"Back there" I answered, looking puzzled, but jerking my head up the tunnel toward the pipe. "He's in a bad way. Come and see"

Led by the bird, whose scarlet wings emitted a soft golden glow in the darkness, we all walked back to the mouth of the pipe. Lockhart was sitting there, humming placidly to himself.

"His memory's gone. The Memory Charm backfired, hit him instead of us. Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He's a danger to himself"

Lockhart peered good-naturedly up at us.

"Hello. Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?" he repeated.

"No" I repeated, raising my eyebrows at Harry.

Harry bent down and looked up the long, dark pipe.

"Have you thought about how we're going to get back up this?" Harry asked.

I shook my head, but the bird had swooped past Harry and was now fluttering in front of him, its eyes bright in the dark. He was waving his long, golden tail feathers.

"He looks like he wants you to grab hold..." I said, looking perplexed. "But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there-"

"Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird" Harry explained. He turned quickly to us. "We've got to hold on to each other. Ginny, grab Ron's hand. Professor Lockhart-"

"He means you" I explained sharply to Lockhart.

"You hold Ginny's other hand"

Harry tucked the sword and the Sorting Hat, which I didn't even know that he had, into his belt. I took hold of the back of Harry's robes while Ginny took the back of mine. Harry reached out and took hold of Fawkes's tail feathers.

With a rush of wings, we were flying upward through the pipe.

"Amazing! Amazing! This is just like magic!" Lockhart exclaimed over and over, which confirmed that the Memory Charm backfired on him.

The chill air was whipping through my hair. It was over quickly - all four of us were hitting the wet floor of Myrtle's bathroom, and as Lockhart straightened his hat, the sink that hid the pipe was sliding back into place.

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V **(AN: Here we go!)**

Darkness. That's all I was able to see for the longest time before it finally changed. Light was shining brightly, almost as if it was daytime. I saw a lot of blue and technology, as if it was the future, but blue. I turned around upon hearing a door open and close behind me.

I saw a girl, about 16, coming down the hallway. She had long, dark brown, almost black hair, and silvery, gray eyes, or eye because I could only see the right. It looked like she was wearing exactly what I wear on the weekends, holidays, and summers. She was smiling, like she just made a ground-breaking discovery, and I noticed that she had pointed teeth, like me.

Before she could trample me, I quickly moved aside. I still followed her though. I'm very curious about her now mainly because of the similarities between us. I followed her down the hall and into a room with WAY more computers, a round table in the middle, and finally 5 people in the room, one of them sleeping. My eyes widened when I got closer to them. They're some of the people I saw in the mirror last year!

"I found something!" the girl who looked like me exclaimed.

"What is it?" a woman with an afro asked.

"I found another cool dimension" she answered.

"Cool! What's in this one?" a man in blue asked.

"I don't exactly know, but I'll tell you when I get back" she answered, first sheepishly, then determined. She walked towards the woman at the computer.

"You're not going anywhere, young lady" the man in green denied. He, along with the man in blue, looked alike. It wouldn't really surprise me if they were related.

"C'mon, Dad. Why not? I went to a different dimension _twice_ before" she whined, turning to the man in green.

"The first time was Zach's fault. The second time, we were kidnapped and you were gone for 3 months" he argued.

"I'm 16. Can't I make my own decisions?" she asked.

"You're still my little girl" her dad said.

"I know I am, Dad. I always will be, but can't you just let me grow up a bit?" she asked, hugging him.

"If I say 'no', will you go back to being the sweet little girl that I remember you to be?" he asked, hugging his daughter tighter.

"No, Dad. I'm still going. I just thought I'd warn you" she laughed and smiled.

"You have to get away first, missy" he smiled, not letting up on the hug.

"Do you really think that you can contain me?" she laughed.

"I can try, can't I?" he laughed. The man in blue walked up and joined the hug. After a few minutes, it turned into a group hug between the five of them. After a few moments of silence, they broke apart.

"Are you sure you want to go?" the other woman asked.

"Yes, Mom. I made up my mind. I'm going" the girl answered. She began to fiddle with her watch, which looked exactly like mine.

"Creaturepod?" her Dad asked. What's that? I feel like I should know it for some reason.

"I'll be back soon, I promise. If I leave it here, then that gives reassurance that I'll be back" she promised.

"I still don't like you doing this, but I'll be rooting for you either way" her dad sighed.

"Thanks, Dad. Well, I guess I better get going. The faster I get there and learn more, the faster I can get back to tell you all about it" she said.

"Do you know how long you'll be gone?" the first woman asked.

"No, Aunt Koki, I don't. Since this place is new to me, it'll most likely take me a while to get used to it and learn about it" she answered.

"Just promise one thing" the man in blue said.

"Yes, Uncle Martin?" she asked.

"Come back as soon as you can" the man, now known as Martin, said.

"I promise" she smiled.

Then, it all went dark again. I have a feeling that it wanted me to process what all just happened. I don't even know! All I got out of all that was that this 16 year old girl was leaving her family to explore...another dimension. She apparently went to a different dimension twice before, and she was stuck there for 3 months the second time. Did that stupid Basilisk somehow plant this in my head? Is it because of a concussion? Is it a hallucination? Is this all a dream? Am I...seeing some sort of memory?

If this is a memory, who's memory is it, or...am I seeing my own? Or is it a past life that I'm seeing? I could probably recognize my own past life. Am I just seeing my past life's memories?

The darkness around me faded into the same setting as before, but with 7 other people. They're the other people that I didn't know from the mirror! Everyone was worried, even the man that was sleeping earlier, even though he was eating pizza.

"Are you sure you don't know? Didn't she tell you where she was going?" a girl wearing an orange suit asked. It looked like she was freaking out about something. The man in a black suit, similar to hers, was trying to calm her down. Actually, all of their suits looked alike, just in different colors. **(AN:** **Day of the Departed suits, just so you know.)** I saw the man in the green suit look sort of calm, but I can tell that he's freaking out on the inside.

"We're sure, Alice. She only said that she was going to explore another dimension, and that she'd be back soon" the girl's dad answered.

"Lloyd, do you have any ideas of finding your girlfriend?" the man in red asked.

"I have a few crazy ideas" the man in green, Lloyd, answered.

"Well, what are they?" the girl's mom asked.

"Well, one way involves you and Chris, Aviva"

"What way would that be?" the man who was sleeping asked.

"Tracking her through blood. I mean, she is the daughter of Chris and Aviva" Lloyd shrugged.

"You seem to forget that there's a difference between her and us, Lloyd" Chris argued.

"Yeah, and that seems too...dark. Too...magicy. Next idea, Lloyd" Alice agreed.

"How about using your powers in the same way? To track her, I mean" he suggested.

"I don't know, Lloyd. How would I even do that? Where would I start? I don't even know if I can in different dimensions" Alice asked. She has powers? Cool.

"Follow her footsteps, track her dreams. You're the Ninja of Dreams, Alice. You think of something" Lloyd said, getting frustrated. Ninja of Dreams? What is that? Alice raised her hands up in surrender, but slowly put them down afterward while her eyes widened.

"What's wrong?" the man in black asked.

"I think I know how to track her" Alice whispered.

"How?" the man that was sleeping asked.

"Ah, Jimmy. Watch, and you shall learn" Alice answered mysteriously. She closed her eyes. What is she doing? I got my answer about 5 seconds later. A watch appeared the was exactly like mine and that girls. Alice opened her eyes, smiled, and took the hot pink and black watch from in front of her. She began to put it on her wrist.

"What does that watch have anything to do with this?" Lloyd asked.

"This watch is different" she answered.

"How?" Koki asked.

"This is a replica of the original watch, yes. But, this one has a one-way connection to the first" Alice explained.

"One-way connection? What does that mean?" Martin asked.

"It means that we can find our friend through this watch, and she can't find us through hers" she answered.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Lloyd urged. Everything faded to black again, except Alice. Why did she stay when everything else faded? Then she looked straight at me. Did this have something to do with her powers?

"We're coming for you, Elsa" she said. Then, she disappeared, and everything began to brighten. Why was everything around me turning white? Am I dead? Does it mean that I'm waking up? If so, how long was I out? How much did I miss? I tritried to make my eyes open to, most likely, find the infirmary. I heard a groan from my right, and I recognized it as Hermione. That did it. My eyes snapped open and I looked at her to my right. I sat up.

"Hey Hermione. You okay?" I asked.

"I'm okay. You?" she answered.

"I'm fine" I smiled. I need to tell her about what I saw later, alone. But I need to be alone first. I started to stand up, but Madam Pomfrey rushed over and pushed me back down.

"I'm fine, Madam Pomfrey. Really" I assured. Madam Pomfrey shook her head.

"I need to make sure" she said. I sighed in defeat and let her check me over. That gave me time to process everything that I saw in my mind.

* * *

 **You know what? I'll stop it here, and post the last chapter later. This book is a little less than 30 chapters! This is my longest book so far. Bye my little wizard turtles. Review?**


	28. King's Cross

**Hello. LAST CHAPTER! Who's ready? I'll find time to write the next book in school and creative writing club at school. Enjoy!**

* * *

Autumn's P.O.V

I don't know what part of the feast I liked better. Everyone in their pajamas during a feast, the boys figuring everything out, them earning _four hundred_ points for Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall announcing that the exams were cancelled as a school treat, to which Hermione was devastated, Dumbledore announcing that, _unfortunately_ , Lockhart would be unable to return next year, or the boys story, retelling the events that occurred while we were out of commission. I laughed when Ron told me the part where his wand backfired on Lockhart. Good thing it wasn't one of those rare times that it actually worked.

"Shame" Ron feigned disappointment, helping himself to a jam doughnut. "He was starting to grow on me"

"Personally, I'm glad he's gone" I scoffed. "Who would want to have an egotistical liar, who didn't even teach us defense, as a teacher?"

"Have you ever heard of sarcasm? You should really try it sometime" Ron retorted. I rolled my eyes.

"You haven't eaten anything. What's on your mind, Elsa?" Hermione asked in concern.

"I'm fine, Hermione. It's just that I missed all those classes full of important information" I sighed.

"Yeah. We can go to the library later for the information that we need" Hermione assured, buying my act. I didn't want to tell anyone what I really felt. It's just too confusing for me right now, and to add another person who's bound to ask a million questions. No. Not happening.

* * *

The rest of term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. Hogwarts was back to normal with only a few, small differences. Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled, and Mr. Malfoy had been sacked as a school governor. Malfoy was no longer strutting around the school like he owned the place. Instead, he looked resentful and sulky. On a lighter note, Ginny was perfectly happy again.

Too soon, it was time for the journey home. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, and I got a compartment all to ourselves. They made the most out of the last hours that they could do magic, but I stared out the window, thinking about what I dreamt/hallucinated.

What was all that about? What did it have to do with me? What did those people mean in the second image? What did the guy, Kai, mean when he said girlfriend to Lloyd? Why did that girl look like me? It's like a million questions are in my head, and I'm trying to answer them all at once. It's giving me a headache. I think I need some tylenol this summer, or aspirin.

Someone tapped my shoulder, and I looked over when I finally got out of my thoughts to see my best friend. She looked concerned, so did everyone else.

"Yes?" I answered.

"We tried calling you for hours. What's going on?" she asked.

"I got lost in my own little world. I swear, I'm fine" I smiled. It was forced, but it seemed to do the trick.

I looked out the window again to see that we were almost back to King's Cross.

"Ginny - what did you see Percy doing, that he didn't want you to tell anyone?" Harry asked.

"Oh, that" Ginny giggled. "Well - Percy's got a _girlfriend_ "

I almost got lost in my thoughts again when she said that word.

Fred dropped a stack of books on George's head. I laughed, but hid it in a cough.

" _What?_ "

"It's that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater" Ginny said. "That's who he was writing to all last summer. He's been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them _kissing_ in an empty classroom one day. He was so upset she was - you know - attacked. You won't tease him, will you?" she added anxiously.

"Wouldn't dream of it" Fred said, who was looking like his birthday had come early.

"Definitely not" George agreed, sniggering.

"Uh huh" I said, not believing them for a second.

"Why do you never believe us, dearest sister?" Fred asked. I raised an eyebrow in the way of _Do you want a list?_ and crossed my arms over my chest.

The Hogwarts Express slowed and finally stopped.

Harry pulled out a quill, a bit of parchment and turned to us.

"This is called a telephone number" he told me and Ron, even though I already knew what a telephone was and how it worked for some reason, scribbling it twice. One for us, and one for Hermione. "I told your dad how to use a telephone last summer - he'll know. Call me at the Dursleys', okay? I can't stand another two months with only Dudley to talk to..."

"Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they? When they hear what you did this year?" Hermione asked as we got off the train and joined the crowd going towards the enchanted barrier. I scoffed at the idea that she got into her head.

"Proud?" Harry asked incredulously. "Are you crazy? All those times I could've dies, and I didn't manage it? They'll be furious..."

Together, we all went through the barrier.

"It's not right that you live with a family that doesn't care for you. If it was me, I would've set them straight as soon as I could. Speaking of which...I'm going to set them straight for you soon" I said, anger clear in my voice. Ron's eyes widened and moved closer to Harry and Hermione instinctively. They looked between us, confused.

"When she says that she'll do something, she _will_ do it. Plus, when she's angry, she sometimes gets out of control. Never make her angry, and stay out of her line of fire" Ron explained to them. They nodded.

"Write you later" I waved to Harry and Hermione as me and Ron left them for our family.

"You might not be able to calm me down when I'm majorly angry, but I'm not 'out of control'" I said, looking at him.

"No. You're out of control all right" A voice snorted behind me. I turned around and glared at Fred before sticking my tongue out.

"Well, let's go home now, kids" Molly ushered us out to the car. I can't wait to be back at the Burrow.

* * *

 **This chapter is short, but that's what you get when you try to write a 2,000 word chapter with only two pages left in the book. I'll get the first chapter of the third book as fast as I can. Review?**

 **This is Turtlepower12 signing off.**


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